The Sun Will Rise with My Name on Your Lips
by Floating Red Lotus
Summary: By the time he realizes he's more invested than he should be, it's too late. Caitlin/Zoom. AU. Prequel to 'I Hope That You're Comfortable in the Quiet, Lasting Grave.' References up to S2E19.
1. Chapter 1

**Author** **'s Note:** This is the prequel to 'I Hope That You're Comfortable in the Quiet, Lasting Grave' (which I actually wrote first). Both of them can be read concurrently since this fanfic offers insight on Hunter's POV on their relationship and establishes the AU of this series – like how the real Jay Garrick is the Man in the Mask, and that Hunter/Zoom is just posing as him. Also, Caitlin and Hunter are asexual.

While this has spoilers up to Episode 19, it is also very AU. I had only watched up to Episode 14 when I first wrote the sequel and published it. However, a friend of mine said something and the next I knew I was watching very spoiler-y clips on Youtube from the recent episodes. Instead of rewriting what I had, I decided to apply select canon details but still keep the idea I had written originally. So if you see any discrepancies, this is the reason why.

 **Trigger Warnings** \- not sure what they are, but Zoom is a manipulative, homicidal asshole and this applies to the entire fanfic.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Flash. Please note that certain beliefs the characters have do not reflect my own. This fanfic's title is taken from the lyrics in Bastille's 'The Driver.'

* * *

...

 **Chapter 1**

One moment, Caitlin's attention had been on him, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to suppress her laughter at the story Hunter told her. In the next, her expression became startled when her eyes flitted to something behind his shoulder.

"Connor!" she cried out, standing up from her seat. Hunter stiffened, turning around to see the person who caught her attention.

It was a brown-haired man, close to Caitlin's age. He had a wide grin on his face as he raised his arms welcomingly. A cool breeze wafted into Hunter's skin as Caitlin quickly went around the table to embrace the stranger.

The world seemed to stop when the unknown man placed a kiss on her cheek. It was a friendly gesture, but in Hunter's eyes, it was far more affectionate than it should be.

Hunter couldn't breathe for a moment, his heart constricting painfully in his chest. And in the next second, it felt as if a dam exploded. Blood roared in his ears. He had to put his cup down and place his hands on his thighs when he realized they were shaking. His right hand, the one he mostly used to execute annoying hindrances and his incompetent lackeys, tingled with the phantom feeling of plunging through someone's chest and shredding their heart apart.

It would be so easy to do that now. Like a knife cutting through butter. Hunter could taste the intoxicating flavor of speed-force hovering on the edges of his senses. Ripping off the restraints that hid it from them would take barely a second –

"Jay." Caitlin's voice abruptly wrenched him back to reality. He felt his expression soften when his eyes landed onto her. "This is Connor. Connor, this is my friend, Jay."

Hunter knew that Caitlin didn't want to bring any attention to him, considering he was an Earth-2 inhabitant. But hearing her say that made him unsettled for some inexplicable reason.

The younger man narrowed his eyes, attention flickering from Caitlin to Hunter, back and forth. He suddenly grinned. "I don't think so, Cait. This guy looks more than just a friend."

"I'm her boyfriend," Hunter said smoothly before she could reply. He stood up and came over to Caitlin's side. She shot him an alarmed look, but Hunter placed a hand on the small of her back, his thumb stroking her reassuringly. In the depths of his mind, a voice was warning him to get a grip on himself – let Caitlin handle this man, and everyone would leave none the wiser – but Hunter ignored it. Something had come over him when Connor used the same affectionate nickname Hunter did. He had only just met the man minutes ago, but Hunter already hated him just as much as he did the real Jay.

Connor gave Caitlin a wounded look. "You didn't tell us about him! Wait till Jessica hears about this."

"Connor…" She groaned.

The man smirked at her before turning his attention back to Hunter. "So, Jay. How long has she been hiding you? Oh sorry, where are my manners?" He offered his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Hunter smiled and took his hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you too." It was harder than usual to sound like he meant it. The dark feelings howling for blood really didn't help at all. He quashed them down with difficulty, but the seething desire to kill remained. "You guys seem to be really close friends."

"Well…" Connor glanced at Caitlin questioningly.

She sighed. "We dated back at uni. The breakup was amicable, and so we stayed friends. Unfortunately." The last word came out disgruntled, but it was clear that Caitlin was just teasing the man.

"Blunt as ever, Cait. You sure you should be saying this to your boyfriend?" Connor asked good-humoredly.

"I don't like causing drama. And besides," she glanced up at Hunter. "Jay has the right to know."

The adoring look on her face elicited a strange, but not unpleasant sensation in his chest. He faintly noted that this particular symptom was becoming more and more frequent lately and was always accompanied with the urge to kiss her soundly on the mouth.

Normally, such an uncharacteristic reaction would have sent off alarms in his head, but Hunter found no problem with it since wooing Caitlin was part of his plans anyway, and so something like this would only help his case.

His longing must have been visible on his face, because then Connor pretended to make a gagging noise.

"Urgh, you two are so disgustingly in love. You must've been dating for a good amount of time, then. I can't believe you didn't tell us."

Caitlin's smile didn't falter, but Hunter could feel her tense. "I'm sorry, Connor. I've been so busy lately, I haven't even talked to Jessica for a while now."

Connor looked like he was about to call her out on the feeble lie. Before he could even get a word out, Hunter raised his arm and glanced at his wristwatch.

"Cait, we better leave now or we'll be late to the meeting," he said, injecting an appropriate amount of worry into his tone.

She immediately caught on with his intentions. "Oh no! We better go right now –" Caitlin paused, remembering something. "Wait. I have to go buy them some drinks first. Connor – "

"No worries." The man raised his hands up in a pacifying gesture. "I understand. Just promise you'll meet up with me and Jessica sometime?"

Her eyes softened. "Of course. I'll text you later."

She stepped away from Hunter to give Connor a hug. The warmth she took with her left him feeling strangely bereft. He drew his hands behind his back when the trembling from earlier made itself apparent again. Their embrace only lasted ten seconds at most, but to Hunter, it felt like an eternity. He bit the inside of his mouth hard enough to taste blood.

What was _wrong_ with him? Why was he feeling this way? The man wasn't important enough to even be a pawn on his chessboard, much less an issue to occupy his thoughts for this long. Why did he want to kill Connor so badly?

Connor was a threat to his plans. Yes, that was it. Caitlin used to date him, didn't she? It would be troublesome if she suddenly had feelings for the man again. All the time he spent with Caitlin to win her affections would go to waste. That wouldn't do. He wasn't going to let some runt get between him and Caitlin – no, his _plans_ , he corrected himself. Yes, that's right. His plans.

A familiar hand brushed his arm, pulling him from his contemplation. All his murderous thoughts dissipated when Caitlin stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss on his jaw.

"I'll be right back," she murmured, her breath warm against his skin. She left before he could recover.

…No, he decided, watching her walk over to the ordering line. Caitlin was loyal. He needn't ever worry about her leaving him, unless he misstepped – which was never going to happen. Still, the image of her with Connor stayed stuck in his mind and made him want to grind his teeth.

"So, I'm guessing you work with Cait at S.T.A.R. labs?"

Hunter reluctantly dragged his eyes away from Caitlin. "Yes. I'm a chemist."

Connor let out a low whistle. "Nice. How are you guys getting paid anyway? You know, ever since Dr. Wells…"

"Patents. And Wells' own funds. We've got no shortage of money anytime soon."

"What made you decide to come here? I'm assuming you're not from Central City. No one else wants to work there anyway, not after what happened."

Hunter picked up his cup from the table and swirled the contents. He did not drink it however, eyeing the man before him.

"I'm beginning to think you're not just making small talk for small talk's sake," he finally said mildly. "You're interrogating me."

Connor grinned. "Damn right I am. You'd think I'd just let you guys go without squeezing out some details?"

What an infuriating man. Well, he wasn't going to back down from a challenge. And he wasn't worried about it either – a quick glance at Caitlin told him that she would have her orders soon. Connor wouldn't be able to ask as much questions as he wanted. Hunter gestured for him to continue on. "Fire away, then," he said amiably.

But Connor was aware of his dwindling time too and immediately went to the heart of the matter, his expression becoming solemn.

"You're older than Cait. Am I right?"

Hunter almost bristled at Connor's tone, before recalling the differences on Earth-1. Relationships with age gaps were common on his Earth. Over here, they were more scrutinized.

"Yes. By eleven years," he said truthfully, seeing no reason to hide it. "Our life experiences are very different, but…" Hunter trailed off, his eyes finding the subject of their conversation by the counter. The corners of his mouth unconsciously quirked into a soft smile. "She makes me feel more alive. I don't think I've ever loved someone as much as I do now."

The younger man scrutinized him for a long moment. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"I do." The reply came out before Hunter could even process it.

He froze, his heart skipping a beat as the words echoed in his mind. _She makes me feel more alive…I don't think I've ever loved someone as much as I do now._

It wasn't…a lie?

Connor was saying something now, but Hunter could only nod distractedly, his mind racing. When did the act become something real? Normally the sickeningly honeyed words would be something he spewed in order to keep up his masquerade, but now it came so smoothly to him it couldn't be anything but genuine.

What the hell was happening to him?

Connor suddenly clapped him on the shoulder, jolting him from his frantic thoughts. It took every ounce of self-restraint to not break the man's hand.

"You seem like a nice guy, so I won't give you the full spiel." Connor paused, and although there was humor in his voice, the look in his eyes was serious. "If you break Caitlin's heart, you better watch out. I'm not exaggerating when I say all her friends and I will track you down and kick your ass."

Hunter smiled. Inwardly, he was imagining the man's pained screams as he ripped him limb from limb.

 _I'd like to see you try, boy. Not that it would come to that._ A possessive fervor took over his thoughts. He was too absorbed in the present to realize what it meant.

 ** _She's mine._**

"Trust me, Connor," he said smoothly. "That's not something you ever have to worry about."

* * *

...

Hunter searched for Connor's doppelganger the moment he went back to Earth-2.

At first, it was a way to expel the accumulation of fury and bloodthirst that had skyrocketed in the presence of the irritating man. Unfortunately, he couldn't get rid of the Earth-1 version without bringing attention from the team. He still wanted them in the dark about his identity after all, and if there was one thing Hunter prided himself in, it was his patience. Connor would receive his dues in time. For now, his counterpart would have to suffer Hunter's wrath.

Fate was definitely in his favor. It turned out that Earth-2 Connor was a member of the CCPD. No one would question Zoom targeting a police officer. It was a common enough occurrence for him anyway. Last Hunter had heard, they had to raise the benefits for their law enforcement members in order to keep them from relocating to a different city.

It was still day when Hunter tracked him down. The man cowered against the brick wall, his empty gun trembling in his shaking hands. Behind Hunter lay the still bodies of the officers who were stupidly brave enough to stand in his way. The air was filled with the screams of civilians and the still howling sirens from abandoned patrol cars. The sound of metal clinking onto the asphalt added to the cacophony as Hunter let the bullets he caught drop onto the ground.

"Wh–what do you want with me?" the man gasped.

Hunter stalked over to him.

"Officer Maddox. I don't have a grievance with you in particular." He stopped in front of him. Hunter was close enough to see the sweat dripping down from the man's forehead like tears. "But," he drawled, watching Connor quake in fear. "In another life, you've really crossed me."

The dark-clothed speedster didn't even give the officer a second to process that. In the next moment, his clawed hand was wrapped around Connor's neck as he effortlessly lifted him up into the air. The man gagged, his hands scratching uselessly at the vise-like grip choking him.

It was so satisfying to see Connor's face take on a puce color. He didn't even have to use much imagination to superimpose the sight of the Earth-1 version onto him. A low growl emanated from deep in Hunter's chest as his fingers tightened. Every ounce of rationality left in his mind was consumed by a thunderous roar.

How _dare_ this stranger touch Caitlin. It didn't matter that it was years before Hunter even met her. She was his, and he wasn't going to let any hands beside his roam over her body, nor could anyone else comfort her, hold her, _kiss_ her –

The gurgling noise suddenly stopped, and Connor went limp, his hands slipping down from Hunter's wrist. Hunter stared at the man for a long moment before releasing his grip. The officer fell to the ground with a muffled thump, sprawled like a puppet that had its strings cut.

He was dead.

Hunter slowly raised his hands before him, palms facing upwards. Tremors shook them. His raspy breaths were surprisingly loud in his ears, and his chest heaved as if he had just ran for hours.

When was the last time he killed a person like this? As Zoom?

Never. No one was worth his time for such a slow execution. It was always a vibrating hand through the heart. It wasn't quick enough for them to die instantaneously, nor was it anymore drawn out than it should be. The victim always had that pained look of cognizance, the split-second realization that their heart was in his hand. That look would be frozen on their face when he finally crushed it.

But this…this was _personal_. He didn't do personal. Not unless he counted the time with his father –

An animal-like, keening noise escaped from the mouth-slits of his mask as the revelation hit him a second later.

No. _No._

It couldn't be –

Memories of Caitlin flitted through his mind. Her smiles. Her laughter. The tremors in his hands eased.

 ** _No._**

He cared for her. He _loved_ her.

The sound of a whistling dart barely managed to catch his attention in time. He whirled around, snatching it right out of the air. The point of the needle was less than a centimeter away from hitting him.

Hunter slowly raised his eyes. Several new squad cars had arrived on the scene. All the officers were out, crouching behind their vehicles with their weapons trained on him.

The dart shattered in his hand when he crushed it. Broken glass fell. Liquid ran down his arm, glistening blue from the speed-force lightning that arced across his body.

"That was a bad idea," he growled.

Shots were fired in reply.

What brave, stupid people. He almost felt sorry for them.

Almost.

* * *

...

Zoom was uncharacteristically distracted today. Reverb was the only one who noticed it.

All the important metas under his command had been called to a meeting hours after the speedster returned from Earth-1. Everyone was reporting the events that occurred during Zoom's absence, as well as the discontented murmurs coming from the gangs comprised of regular humans. The latter were angry due to Zoom's effect on their businesses and his unabashed encroachment into their territory. Not that they could do anything about it. No one could stop Zoom when he wanted something.

Normally the speedster's replies were minced and straight to the point. It was mostly them doing the talking, really. But today, Zoom was quieter than usual. He sat sprawled in his chair like a reclining feline, the tips of his clawed fingers tapping methodically on the arm-rests. They were already three-fourths through the meeting and Zoom had only spoken six times, and that was when the subject of disposable metas that could be sent to Earth-1 came up. Even when they brought up the news of a group of external metas that just came to Central City, he had remained silent.

Reverb's eyes were safely hidden behind his glasses, so he could observe the speedster for as long as he wanted. His eyes narrowed when he saw Zoom's tapping falter slightly. At that same moment, Deathstorm had whispered something into Killer Frost's ear, making her giggle.

His lips pursed into a tight line before a smile could break through. Well, well, well. Zoom had been focused on Killer Frost since the beginning.

It was confirmation for what Reverb had been suspecting for a long time now.

Some meta, Reverb forgot his name, decided to voice a question that had been in everyone's heads since Zoom returned.

"Uh, Boss?"

The clawed fingers stopped tapping. Zoom didn't say anything, but the gesture was telling enough.

The meta gulped. "We've heard the news today. You killed a bunch of coppers in broad daylight. It was, uh, very sudden…"

All was silent. It was as if everyone was holding their breaths. Reverb inwardly groaned. Was the meta trying to get himself killed? He couldn't just keep his curiosity to himself like everyone else.

"Do I need a reason to kill those fools?" Zoom asked slowly. The growling undertone in his voice was more prominent than ever.

The meta balked, backtracking quickly. "No, of course not! We were just wondering, since the last time that happened, someone was poking around too much – "

"Cease your talking. Or you'll find yourself without a tongue _very soon_."

An undignified squeak escaped from the meta. Zoom started tapping his arm-rest again, his eyes straying over to Killer Frost. It was impossible to see what he was looking at due to his completely black eyes, so no one called him out on it.

But at least one person discerned Zoom's preoccupation, because he had been specifically looking for it.

Reverb cleared his throat. "Back to the topic – what do you want us to do about this gang of external metas, Zoom?"

"Kill them," came the immediate reply. "Clearly they aren't planning to play by our rules. And they still come here after seeing what I do to those who oppose me. I won't have idiots under my command." The speedster shifted, the movement not unlike a deadly panther uncoiling his muscles. "Make their execution very public. Make the message clear that this is _my_ city. I don't have time to deal with weaklings like them, so the honor falls in your hands. I trust you will not fail me."

Reverb bowed his head. "Of course, sir."

"You're all dismissed."

The metas practically scurried out of the room, not wanting to be in Zoom's murderous aura for any longer than necessary. Only one person stayed behind after signaling to Deathstorm and Killer Frost to leave ahead of him.

"What do you want, Reverb?"

He kept his arms relaxed by his sides, but the sweat beading behind his neck betrayed his fear.

Everyone else thought that the Flash was dead. Only Reverb knew better. Zoom would undoubtedly kill him if he found out, but Reverb was gambling on the chance that he wouldn't. He wasn't one of Zoom's top henchman for nothing. The man clearly needed him for his plans.

"I've been having these visions for some time now," he said slowly.

"Don't you always?" the speedster asked sarcastically.

"These are…different. It has to do with your time on Earth-1."

As usual, it was difficult to tell what Zoom was focused on. But Reverb _felt_ rather than saw Zoom's eyes honing in onto him.

"Is that so." The other man sounded calm. Too calm.

"Yes. Particularly with one Caitlin Snow." He wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been looking for it, but Zoom definitely tensed at the woman's name. "Always with you there, though." Reverb paused, licking his dry mouth. "The news reported that all the officers were killed with your usual execution-style – all but one. The man looked remarkably similar to the one who hugged Snow in that café."

Zoom was silent for a long, terrifying moment.

"Reword your statement carefully, and you might find yourself living another day."

"What I meant was, sir," he managed to say steadily, "Is that I can help you keep tabs on Snow. She seems to be really important to your plans if you're spending this much time with her."

"Hmmm. How generous." The speedster sounded darkly amused. "But I believe I hear a threat in there, Mr. Ramon."

Reverb flinched. It had been a long time since anyone used his real name. The fact that Zoom purposely used it, dangling it before him like a bottle of poison, made him more anxious. He was a cold-hearted criminal for sure, but even he still had ties to his family. Frayed ties, but ties nonetheless.

But now, he knew Zoom also wasn't as heartless as everyone thought him to be. And therein lied his opportunity.

"You heard correctly," Reverb said, keeping his chin up.

Zoom's reaction wasn't what he had been expecting. A low chuckle came from his mouth-slits. It quickly escalated to full-blown laughter. The chilling noise echoed unnervingly in the room.

There was a flash of blue lightning, and suddenly, Zoom was in front of him. Reverb couldn't help but take a step back when Zoom bent down to meet his eyes. No emotion shone in his unfathomable orbs. It almost made Reverb wonder if he had been imagining the man's affection toward that woman.

But then he recalled Zoom's latest massacre, and he knew for certain that he was right.

"The only reason you're still alive is because I need your unique powers," Zoom rasped. "You crave this city so badly you would threaten me? Don't be foolish. I can end you before you even lift a finger. _Do not even think about touching her, or telling anyone else about this._ " He straightened, finally giving Reverb room to breathe. "The first thing I do before I recruit anyone is finding out who and where their loved ones are. Keep that in mind, Cisco."

Reverb swallowed. "I understand perfectly."

"Good. Now leave before I change my mind."

Clenching his hands into fists, if only to stop himself from firing a vibrational blast at the speedster's monstrous mug, Reverb did exactly like that. Deathstorm and Killer Frost gave him questioning looks when he stepped out into the hallway, but he ignored them.

Reverb was tired of being under Zoom's foot. With his abilities, he was destined for great things. He could even cross over to Earth-1 right now and find that woman Zoom was infatuated with. But Zoom's promise hung heavily over his head, and so Reverb forcibly reined in his frustration.

Some day, he would topple Zoom from his throne and rightfully take over the city. He just needed to be patient. Zoom already committed his first misstep. There would definitely be more to come. The speedster wasn't as infallible as he made himself out to be.

* * *

...

Hunter was furious at Reverb's audacity. Unlike Earth-1 Cisco, the meta was more practiced and refined at using his powers. Hunter hadn't sensed him vibing at all. He had counted on fear holding the meta back from doing such a thing toward him, but apparently it hadn't been enough.

He paid a visit to Reverb's family hours after that conversation. Hunter didn't kill them, but he made sure Reverb would know what happened – and what _will_ happen should he step out of line again.

Still, the meta's threat festered in his mind like a horrible itch he couldn't get rid of. The next thing he knew, he was crossing the breach to Earth-1 in his Zoom attire.

It was late into the night when he arrived. At his max-speed, not even S.T.A.R. labs' sensors could detect his presence. The reserves of speed-force he could use for the day without it exacerbating his degenerative condition was dwindling at an alarming rate – he had already spent most of it terrorizing Earth-2's Central City. The smart choice to follow now was to retreat and recover a good amount before he exerted himself. It was the right thing to do. It was what he should have done.

He found himself in her apartment.

Caitlin didn't even stir in her sleep as he prowled around her bed. Blue light eerily flickered across her skin, illuminated by the lightning that hissed over his body.

She was so small, so fragile. The thought that he should kill her came to him as naturally as breathing. She was a liability after all. A weakness. His enemies would take advantage of him, all because of his _feelings_ for her.

Emotions were a weakness. Didn't his occasional flashbacks to _that day_ prove it? He still loved his mother, still hated his father. They would haunt him to his death, and he would never be free of them no matter how deeply he buried his humanity.

And now he cared for this woman.

There was no getting rid of her, he realized. Just as he could never escape his parents' influence, so too would Caitlin forever be imprinted in every cell of his body.

The fact that he didn't find himself minding so much only reinforced it.

Slowly, the dark-clothed speedster reached out and carefully ran his claws through the woman's hair.

 _You've made me weak. I should hate you for it. I should kill you too. I've done it easily enough to dozens of people before without a second thought. But I love you more than I could ever hate you, so I can never hurt you. You're the only one who matters to me. You're the only one I would ever be weak for._

The absentminded strokes against her hair suddenly became a tight, possessive grip. Caitlin shifted, but did not wake up.

 _You're mine_ , he vowed, drinking in her peaceful profile. _I won't ever let you go_ – _no matter how much you wish for it._

 _You're stuck with me now, Caitlin._

 _..._

* * *

 **Author Notes:**

1\. Warning - this fanfic will be **EXTREMELY AU**. I planned this series out when I only watched up to Episode 14, so be aware of cameos by OCs (they won't be the main characters though, just showing up for advancement of plot), and discrepancies. Also, Caitlin and Hunter are asexual here. If you're not into these things, you should probably turn away.

2\. On the issue of the time remnant - my friends and I were confused. Does that mean Caitlin had been in love with younger!Hunter all along? So I skimmed through Episode 18 clips again - Iris asks Hunter/Zoom when he got the remnant, and he answers that he retrieved the remnant once they closed all the breaches and headed to Earth-2. Conclusion - it was only when the team went to Earth-2 that he switched out with the remnant, and not before. So older!Hunter/Zoom and Caitlin had fallen in love. BUT how did he go back to Earth-1 when all breaches were closed, including the one at STAR Labs, BEFORE the team went to Earth-2? I'm guessing that's where Reverb comes in - which is why I had Zoom keep him alive despite the risk of him hurting Caitlin. Adding this here because it will be an important scene in a future chapter. ;-)

3\. Although this was mostly from the POV of Hunter, I'm pretty sure I actually wrote three people instead - Jay/Hunter, Hunter/Zoom, and Zoom. I thought I made a mistake, but then I remembered that even we have different personalities/faces we show to certain people (ex: I wouldn't act the same way toward a friend as I would with a family member). So hopefully that works out lol.

4\. I based off Caitlin and Hunter/Zoom's age on their actors since I couldn't find it (28 and 39, respectively). I wouldn't be surprised if this is canon in the show, considering that Jay looks older than her. This is not the issue in the story though, so you'll only see it referenced in the beginning.

5\. Reviews are love! You have no idea how much they mean to me. I always doubted my ability to write, so any constructive criticism, or even just a simple comment makes me happy and motivates me.

6\. This fic is also posted on Archive Of Our Own under the user Floating_Red_Lotus.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Much thanks to all readers and reviewers, especially guest comments that the site won't let me reply to! I know my A/N's are horrendously long, but I decided to add replies to guest reviewers + word barf for the confused at the bottom anyway 'cause I love you guys. Yay! 8D *gets shot*

Sorry for long wait. I'll be honest – had some family problems and only 4 hrs of sleep a day/week. Not exactly on the top of my game. =_= Wanted to scrap this chapter, but I powered through because of your reviews, and I don't have a beta anyway, so there's bound to be problems (one of which is the inevitable exposition and hijinks for an unrepentant AU)…just more since I'm really tired lol. My apologies in advance. Bright side, more legit fluff and plot next chapter, less setting up the AU? 8D

 ** _IMPORTANT NOTE:_ ** I just realized I misunderstood the term external metahuman – I assumed it meant people outside of Central City who were affected by the particle accelerator explosion _and_ people outside C.C. with innate powers (magic, etc). Since I don't know the general term for the latter (it wouldn't be mutants or inhumans right? Lol jk, different franchise. xD ), let's pretend in this AU, external metahumans fall for those two scenarios. But for Earth-2, since the p.a. explosion was better contained, this term usually refers to outsiders with innate powers.

Cameos by OCs who sound like they're Zatara and Zatanna (but it's not them – you can say these characters were _inspired_ by them, as things had to be changed and powered down to make certain stuff work *cough cough*), and references to this AU's take on Black Siren.

 **TW:** Zoom being a manipulative, homicidal asshole as usual. References to torture in Jesse's POV.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

...

The gnawing ache extended beneath his skin and into his bones. Hunter was no stranger to pain, but the constancy was wearying and the way it ebbed and surged intermittently caused his breath to hitch whenever it hit a particular intensity.

And today was worse than normal.

He placed his clawed hands on the metal frame of the cot he was sitting on and gripped it tightly. The material easily yielded beneath his strength. Hunter turned his focus onto it, gritting his teeth as the pain heightened.

"Your condition is degenerating faster."

The slits on his mask stretched as he snarled. "I did not keep you alive to hear you state obvious facts to me, Jie. You don't even need a test to see that."

"You didn't let me finish, Zoom," the dark-haired woman said evenly, spinning her chair around to face him. The computer screen she was looking at showed the state of his cells in all its degraded glory. "My abilities should have slowed it down enough to avoid this state for at least three months. I told you not to expend more speed-force than your allocated reserves. It worsens your illness. But that's exactly what you did, and here we are."

"It had to be done," he said dismissively. "Have you already forgotten the reason for your service?"

She peered over her glasses at him, a frown on her lips. "Even at the cost of your well-being? And I may have healing powers, but I'm not a miracle worker. The pain will only get worse as you continue to strain yourself, and the recovery period for your reserves will increase. If you want to live so badly, nothing is worth doing this. Because there _will_ be a point where I can't do anything, and killing my family won't change that fact."

 _You're wrong._ The image of a slumbering Caitlin flickered through his mind, so vulnerable and unaware. He did not regret crossing over to see her when he should have been resting. _There is someone worth this_.

"Can you still heal me?"

"Now? Now, I can. Maybe even next time too, if you're lucky. But any more than that, and I can't guarantee it. So for both our sakes, stop being stubborn."

This infernal woman. If he didn't desperately need her abilities, he would have killed her and her family a long time ago. Jie knew it too, and although the lives of her kin weighed heavily enough on her to stop any sabotage attempt, her impudence and fearlessness were grating on his nerves. It rubbed in the fact his vulnerability had forced him to stoop this low.

He couldn't wait until Barry's speed-force was finally his. Then he could get rid of Jie.

—Or not. Hunter frowned, thinking of Caitlin. What if something happened to her? A mortal injury or sickness. For the former, running back in time was an option, but the unforeseen consequences spiraling out from it could potentially put a dent in his plans. Best to avoid that possibility altogether and keep the metahuman on retainer.

"Watch your tongue. I will do as I wish," he bit out. "Have you made any breakthroughs on the masked prisoner?"

The breach, which pulled both him and Jay into Earth-1 during their final battle, had opened three months after he recruited Jie. It had been easy to subdue Jay once they were on the other world, since he was grievously injured. But Hunter did not allow her access to the man until the end of the six-month recon mission he went on prior to introducing himself to Barry's team. Even if it would have meant further advancements in their research had he given Jay to her from the start, Hunter didn't regret his decision.

Letting even one person know about his weakness was troubling enough. He had taken great pains to keep her ignorant and inaccessible by everyone else. The one exception being his prisoners, and even then, if they hadn't gone unconscious sometime during his torture sessions with them, he would knock them out before taking them to her. Since her involuntary tenure as his doctor, he had essentially kept her in solitary confinement on his base. No news from the outside world was allowed to reach her ears – although he did let slip the Flash had 'died,' taking away whatever hope she had for his defeat. He also did not allow her to contact anyone, and none of his other subordinates were aware of her existence.

It was why he limited and falsified her knowledge of his plans and general happenings as best as he could, and why he had been so reluctant to let her experiment on Jay. To Jie, the prisoner was just a Flash incarnation from a different Earth who Zoom had abducted. The mask served as a restraint which prevented Jay from using his powers or talking and as a cover to hide his identity.

"Sort of." She pulled open the drawer beneath her desk and picked up a stack of papers. "So the problem we've encountered before was his illness, although degenerative like yours, has a much slower rate. His cellular deterioration also doesn't worsen when he's injured, whereas it does to you even after your speed-force heals your wounds. We know this is because he used a different version of Velocity, and he didn't inject it as much as you did. Whatever formula we develop might stall his illness further, but it won't work as well on you. But if you insist on straining your reserves, then anything helps. I _think_ this recent one might kick-start his speed-force into fixing him better. It wouldn't be so much of a stretch to say he'll be cured in, what, four months? At the rate of our progress. Unfortunately, the side-effect is he'll permanently lose a significant portion of his speed-force – "

A feral noise ripped from his throat. " _You were about to give me something that would do that? And to the prisoner I specifically told you not to harm?_ "

She threw her hands in the air. "Both of you have corrupted your speed-force!" Jie shouted. "There's no cure in the world that can keep it completely intact. It's withering away. Unless you find some untainted source to graft it on, we have no choice but to use this to slow your illness. Hell, you can take his once he's cured! Why not?"

 _Because it's not enough!_ Hunter stood up and restlessly paced across the floor. The cot's metal frame groaned, the place where he had gripped it completely mangled. But his surroundings and audience barely registered in his mind as his thoughts raced furiously.

The amount of speed-force required to travel to the rest of the multiverse was unfathomable. He needed every single ounce he could get, and not a drop wasted. Hunter was doing his best to train Barry and force him to increase the limits of his abilities by sending meta after meta, but when it came down to it, the younger man was just not becoming fast enough in the amount of time Hunter had left. And if Barry's speed-force added to his wasn't sufficient, having a diminished source from Jay would hardly help at all.

He was _not_ going to let that happen. He had sacrificed too much to let his plans fail like this. Fate had given him a boon when it opened the breaches between his world and Caitlin's. Wasting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would be insane.

"You will heal me now," Hunter rasped, turning around to face her. "And then we will review over your findings before we test anything."

"I'm telling you, there's no way to fix that problem!"

" ** _I will find a way!_** " he roared. The woman flinched, nearly dropping her papers. Hunter glared at her, his breathing harsh and ragged. "If he is going to permanently lose a fraction of his speed-force, then it can't be helped. What we can do is make sure he will not lose more than one-fourth of it."

"What you're asking for is impossible."

"Is it?" His obsidian eyes widened, making him look more inhuman than usual. "A little more than two years ago, if I were to say humans like you and I would exist, you'd have thought me unhinged. Our existence proves there is nothing in this world that cannot be achieved as long as you're willing to stretch the limits. We will find it. But first, you will heal me."

Jie still looked like she doubted him, but she set the papers down onto her desk. She stood up and gestured for him to sit down. Hunter came over and spun the chair around so that it was facing her before he took his seat. The woman placed her hands on his shoulders.

"This'll take longer than usual," Jie said tersely. Glowing, lilac-colored energy began to flicker around her hands. The warmness emanating from it seeped into his body, slowly easing his pain. "And a full day for your reserves to replenish." She bit her bottom lip, anxious about the pressure he had set on her shoulders. Zoom demanded nothing but the best, and if his expectations weren't met, things went downhill. Quickly. "I don't know how much we'll be able to do in the time you're grounded."

A rumbling growl not unlike a lion's shook his frame.

"You'll be surprised at what can be accomplished in a day," Hunter said darkly.

* * *

...

As soon as he had fully recuperated, Hunter went back to Earth-1. Unfortunately, the time away had done nothing to lessen his sour mood. It only worsened as the days passed.

There was much to be aggravated about. First, Reverb's threat. Hunter still hadn't forgotten it, but he needed the man for his plans, so killing him wasn't an option. And since Reverb had vibed Hunter's time on Earth-1 when he was "Jay," there was no telling what his other visions had shown him. Perhaps he even knew the real Jay Garrick was alive and well – or at least, as well as one can be after being tortured repeatedly. While he had expressly forbidden Jie from actions harmful to his archenemy's well-being, the restriction didn't apply to himself. Hunter found no problem with beating the man within an inch of his life every now and then. Partly for scientific purposes, but mostly because he just wanted to.

The second was the formula itself. Like he promised, they had made some progress in improving it. But it still wasn't enough. Time wasn't the problem – he still had an adequate amount left to work on it before he really needed the final product. It was the fact that it could be because of his own shortcomings which frustrated him.

Before he had been sent off to the mental asylum, before the dark matter had turned him into a meta, Hunter had no scientific background. Unlike Barry though, he had greater range over his abilities, which allowed him to process and retain information for far longer than the younger man. After the particle accelerator explosion, Jay surfaced as the Flash, gifted with the same powers as Hunter. Instead of making his appearance, Hunter bid his time and stalked him, learning everything he could about his rival. The tipping point came when Jay failed to save a group of civilians in time and made the Velocity serum because of it. Hunter broke into his lab and copied his research. It had taken him a month to rapidly acquaint himself with a field he had never dabbled in before, and at the end of it, he had improved and developed his own version of Velocity. It made him faster than Jay could ever hope to be, and with that, he took on his alter-ego as Zoom.

But he hadn't been smart enough to foresee the detrimental effects of the serum. Granted, Jay hadn't either, but the other man's version had not wrecked his system as badly as it did Hunter's. It was a blow to his pride.

The mix of these stressors was enough to put him off-kilter. Every time he saw Earth-1 Cisco, he was assailed with the urge to bash the man's head against the wall. It was the same case for Harrison. He never really hated the older man though, funnily enough. At most, Harrison had the presence of a persistent gnat, and gnats weren't worth the time for such a strong emotion. Hunter only pretended to loathe him since Jay and Harrison were known to have bad blood between them. But his hunger for a complete cure was increasingly making him impatient.

Hunter managed to hide it well enough beneath the nauseatingly well-meaning persona of his archenemy. He was confident no one perceived his unease, but a certain woman saw through him.

Of course, it had to be the one who was the reason for a portion of this mess in the first place. He couldn't decide whether he was annoyed or endeared by the fact. Most likely it was the latter.

He felt her speculative and concerned glances throughout the day. Fortunately, she was tactful and did not bring it up then. As soon as the opportunity came, Caitlin told the rest of the team she and 'Jay' would be going out for the break. Cisco made Caitlin stammer adorably in reply when he winked and told them to 'take their time.' This lessened some of the irritation he had been trying hard not to project toward the younger man. It made him pleased to see the visible effect he had on Caitlin.

Twenty minutes later, he found himself sitting in a booth which was too small for his stature. The table was still sticky from the leftover residue of spilt ice cream. All around him, happy families and couples were sharing their frozen desserts and talking loudly. Pop music played in the background. His jaw tightened when several kids came running past, brushing into him and spraying drops of milkshake across his face.

The café's amiable atmosphere he could handle. Swallowing down his pride to play a compassionate man was easy too. But this? This was too much. It felt as if all his senses were being overloaded.

An amused snort drew his attention to the side. Caitlin had snuck up from behind him, a large sundae in one hand and a pile of napkins in the other. She set the dessert down and cleaned the drops from his face. When she finished, she didn't pull away immediately. Her thumb smoothed the furrow in his brow.

"You look like you'd rather be somewhere else."

He forced a smile onto his mouth. It came out looking more like a grimace. "It's really…busy."

"Well, ice cream parlors are usually that way." She raised an eyebrow. "You don't have any on your Earth?"

That drew a chuckle from him. "I'm pretty sure every Earth has an ice cream parlor, Cait. It's just… well, the last time I've been to one was decades ago. Probably when I was eleven."

It was the truth. He had very few happy childhood memories after his mother was murdered in front of him. Everything else before that also soured too as the years passed by. Once upon a time, he had loved ice cream and looked forward to the moments when his mother bought him some. Now, he couldn't so much as glance at it without his stomach roiling. He would have avoided this place if he could, but the excitement on Caitlin's face had stalled his excuses.

"Are you serious, Jay?" She looked horrified.

He shrugged helplessly. "It is what it is."

A determined look came onto her face. "We're definitely stopping here again."

Hunter's eyes widened. "Cait, I don't think – "

"Do you trust me?"

He didn't even hesitate. "Always."

Caitlin beamed and took his hand. "Come with me then. There's a place I think you'll like better."

Hunter followed her unquestioningly.

They went out of the ice cream parlor, crossed the street and headed over to where a small public library stood. Behind the building was a park and a man-made lake with a water sprout in the middle. There were ducks floating in the water and waddling on the grassy banks. Surprisingly, there weren't many people out today despite the warm weather. Only some bicyclists pedaled by, and the children seemed more interested in feeding the waterfowl than playing. The large sign asking for visitors to not give food to the animals was blatantly ignored by all.

Caitlin led him out to the further edges of the park. A dozen tables and benches were scattered across the field. She settled them onto one of the tables that were placed beneath the shade of the trees. He could feel her warmth through the layers of his clothes as she slid into the seat beside him and placed the sundae between them. Somehow, the ice cream had hardly melted during their short trek to the park.

The sounds of the waterfowl and laughing children had faded to a tolerable level, and the constant noise of water striking against the lake contributed to a calming ambiance. A breeze rustled the canopy of leaves above them, scattering dappled sunlight across the table and his skin. It was a rather nice place, he had to admit. Normally, he wouldn't waste his precious time on such scenic outings, but the company made it all the more worthwhile. He didn't have to fake the contentment on his face.

Caitlin playfully elbowed his ribs. "See? I told you would like it."

Hunter chuckled. "Well, I never doubted you. You always deliver."

"I'm glad to hear that _because_ – " She offered him a spoon, a mischievous grin on her lips. " – I did bring you out here for a reason. Don't be shy – eat up!"

He reluctantly accepted it and began to prod the dessert as he would with a dead rat. Caitlin sighed exasperatedly and took a generous amount onto her own spoon. She raised it toward him.

"Cait," he said weakly, moving his head away from her hand. "I'm not really in the mood for ice cream."

She wasn't deterred. "You agreed to go there with me. Just eat it. Ice cream makes everyone feel better."

"What if you're lactose-intolerant?" he asked with a straight face. "Because I am."

"Jay!" She slapped his arm. Hunter's shoulders shook in silent laughter at the expression on her face. "Seriously, don't make me force-feed you."

"Alright, alright." He opened his mouth.

The ice cream was too sweet for him. Which was surprising, because he remembered enthusiastically trying out different flavors as a young boy. Vanilla was probably a better choice then, if his tastes had changed this much. But Hunter let it melt and roll across his tongue, all the while watching Caitlin. It was endearing how earnest she looked. She was literally sitting on the edge of the seat, waiting for his reaction.

Instead of answering her unspoken question, Hunter picked up his own spoon to get another scoop. The second bite was just as sickeningly saccharine as the first, but he found he could bear it as long as he kept his eyes on her. It stilled the turmoil within him and anchored Hunter to the present. The sepia-toned memories of his childhood abated, no longer at the forefront of his mind.

He could learn to enjoy this. As long as she was here.

"So, do you like it?"

"It's better when you're feeding it to me." The words came out before he could stop them. Hunter balked. Caitlin looked just as taken aback as he was. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to run back in time and take back that ridiculous answer. Just as he was seriously starting to consider it, she burst out laughing.

He had never seen her like this before. Her whole body shook and tears were coming out from the corners of her eyes. She looked like she couldn't breathe.

He should have felt mortified.

Instead, warmth bloomed in his chest. It spread throughout his body like a poison, quickening his heartbeat and making him feel lightheaded. The sensation was euphoric and distressing and nauseating all at once. It felt like he was sick and delirious and dying – and he _loved_ it.

Good heavens, he was going insane. This woman would be his downfall. It was undeniable, but he could do nothing to stop it. Even if he could, he didn't think he wanted to.

"You're so cheesy," Caitlin wheezed. "I saw your face. Y-you actually meant it!"

"Is that a good thing? Because I can't tell whether you're laughing with me or _at_ me."

She didn't reply immediately, wiping the tears from her face. "What made you think I was laughing at you? It's cute."

Cute? _Cute?_ Hunter groaned. He was lucky Reverb had threatened him beforehand. The meta would never take him seriously again if he vibed this. "Please don't use that word."

"What?" she teased. "Because it's not manly? You can be manly and cute at the same time, you know."

"I'm a thirty-nine year old adult. I'm pretty sure I've outgrown 'cute' decades ago."

"So in this case, does that make you an overgrown man-child?"

" _Caitlin_ …"

The brown-haired woman grinned. She picked up some ice cream onto her spoon and offered it to him again. "Have some more, and I promise I won't ever bring it up again."

"Sly woman," he murmured after he swallowed the dessert. "Are you even going to eat this? Or is it really all for me?"

Caitlin casually put some into her mouth with the same spoon she had fed him with. It didn't escape his notice. "Of course I'm going to. It's _ice cream_." There was a silent ' _duh_ ' in her voice. From anyone else, blood would have been spilt. But since it was Caitlin, the mocking tone elicited only amusement from him. It was truly a testament of his affection for her, the things he let her get away with. What would have normally set him off, he found exasperatingly adorable coming from her. "By the way, how are you feeling now?"

"…more relaxed." Which was true. He no longer wanted to kill Reverb…at least, not anytime soon. It was an improvement, however miniscule.

"Good to hear. You were really tense back at S.T.A.R. labs. It looked like you wanted to blow up on Cisco."

Hunter winced. He could have sworn he kept his temper in check. "Was it that obvious?"

"Not really. I only noticed it because you have this tell. It's the same one whenever Dr. Wells annoys you. Your eye twitches."

"My eye twitches," he repeated flatly. Heavens help him, he admired Caitlin's perceptiveness, but at this rate, she'd find out something she wasn't supposed to know.

And he didn't think he'd be able to stop her. He couldn't even say no to ice cream, for goodness sake.

"That, and you were hovering. Around me," she clarified. "I don't necessarily mind, but every time I took a step, you immediately followed. Are you worried about something?"

 _Yes. A certain meta under my command might be ambitious enough to ignore my warnings and cross over to use you against me. I would have killed him a long time ago, but I still need him for my plans. So now I'm stuck in this situation of wanting to follow you everywhere you go, but I have my affairs on Earth-2 I need to take care of too. And that's only just one of my worries._

Hunter exhaled deeply, looking away. It was hard to maintain a steady gaze with her gentle, doe-like eyes staring at him like that. He almost felt dirty, lying to her like this. But then he remembered he was doing all of it for a reason.

At first, saving himself from death was purely an act of self-preservation. It was too soon to be his time – he had yet to explore the possibilities of his powers, to realize his potential and bring down the multiverse to heel. But now with Caitlin in the picture, he literally had someone to live for. Someone to protect and cherish. And with this, the singular, selfish motivation gained a dimension he never thought it would have in a million years. The thought of leaving Caitlin by herself _without him_ filled Hunter with a mix of fury and fear. This woman had his entire heart in her hands and she did not even know it. It was only right that she fully belonged to him when she had such a vulnerable part of himself in her grip. Not even death could free her from him, or him from her. He won't let it.

Of course, he was highly aware of the inevitable fallout when the truth of his identity could finally come to light. But Hunter was confident it would not last forever. Once he cured himself, once all this was over, once she was no longer wary of him, he would come clean to her about everything.

She would understand. He'd _make_ her understand.

They would have all the time in the world after his victory.

"What's not to worry about? Zoom is out there, Barry still isn't fast enough, Wells is being Wells, and I – " His hands clenched into fists. " – I don't have my speed. I can't protect you if anything happens. I just…I feel so _useless_."

"Jay…you know that's not true. You're doing everything you can to help us."

"It's not enough." His tone was bitter. "It will never be enough."

 _It only will be when the whole multiverse is in the palm of my hand_ – _and all the speed-force, mine. And at the end of it, by my side, you. Always you._

A hand cupped his jaw. She gently pulled his head toward her, bringing his attention back to her face.

"Don't be silly," she admonished him. "Those are narrow thoughts. They're self-defeating. And beyond your control. Where's your faith?"

Hunter sighed. "I don't know. I guess I lost it when Zoom beat me. He's a demon, Cait. You saw him. It's hard to be optimistic when we're going against… _that_."

Her hand slid up further onto his face, resting against his cheek. He leaned into her touch. "You trust me, don't you?" she asked again.

"Always," he murmured.

"Then listen to me on this. Barry and the others have faith in you. Why would they still be relying on you if they didn't believe you could help us defeat Zoom? You're definitely not useless, even without your speed. You put yourself down too much. It hurts me to see how lowly you look at yourself."

He swallowed. "Caitlin – " Hunter began hoarsely.

"Give me a moment to finish, Jay. I –" She broke off abruptly, taking in a deep breath. "You may not have faith in yourself, but I have enough for the both of us. And I believe we can beat Zoom and get your speed back." Her mouth quirked upwards. "If that still isn't enough for you, then trust me when I say everything will turn out alright. The universe has a way of balancing itself out."

 _You have no idea how right you are_.

The breaches opening between their worlds – just when he was about to give up on finding a solution to his degenerative illness – was truly more than a coincidence. Fate had practically handed him an untainted source of speed-force on a silver platter. And in the process, he came across a variable he could have never accounted for in his wildest dreams. Who he originally thought was merely another pawn on the chessboard became something more. A queen he never knew he wanted or needed in the first place. The universe did have a way of aligning itself in his favor.

It was so hard not to giggle. Through sheer willpower, he managed to temper down his gleefulness enough to give her a teasing smirk and not the inappropriately maniacal one he was hiding deep inside. "Ms. Snow, is that a cliché I'm hearing from you right now? And after you accuse me of being cheesy?"

She huffed, amused. "This is how you thank me, Garrick? By turning my heartfelt words on me? Glad to know I helped." Caitlin started to pull away, but Hunter caught her hand just as it slipped off his face and threaded his fingers between hers.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "Your faith in me – I don't deserve any of it. It means the world to me, coming from you."

She blushed under the intensity of his gaze. "I'm not the only one. You had a whole city who believed in you, remember? I'm sure they still do. Imagine how they'd react when they find out you're still alive!"

 _Oh my dear, if only you knew_.

Taking the real Jay captive and making it seem like he killed the Flash was one of the most enjoyable things he'd ever done. He took great pleasure in branding his mark over Central City and making it clear no one could stop him from establishing his reign. To see the light be snuffed out from the citizens' eyes, to see their hopes crushed and their shoulders bent over with the knowledge that no one could save them – their misery was delicious ambrosia. It was no secret among the people of the city, this hunger of his, even before the Flash's capture. Jay had once asked him what made him find the suffering of others by his hand so addicting. To be honest, Hunter did not know.

Perhaps watching his father kill his mother had broken something inside his mind. Perhaps being ignored and abandoned by his remaining relatives took away the last shred of his faith in humanity. Perhaps years of being shuffled around in that cruel foster system, without familial love and support, incorrectly re-wired his traumatized brain and hardened him. Whatever it was, it made him _different._ For the longest time, he thought he was incapable of love. After all, how could a monster ever have such a human emotion?

And then Caitlin came into the picture. He never expected it to happen. He was _using_ her, for goodness sake. Only an idiot predator would fall in love with his prey. But soon pretense became reality, and now he found himself too deeply invested in the situation. It was messy, and if he was honest with himself, he was beginning to lose his touch.

But seeing this warmth in her eyes, a sentiment which was directed _toward_ him, and to hear how much faith she had in him, when they had only known each other for a handful of months, it…it made his heart _ache_.

The longing he had buried deep within the darkest corners of his self – locked and tucked tightly away under layers and years of bloodthirst, anger, denial, and fear – began to seep out and pool into his chest. And it crawled up his esophagus, finally settling heavily on his tongue. The taste of it made his heart beat harder and quicker, to the point where he could hear it thud noisily in his ears. This feeling couldn't be anything other than poison, but its sweetness filled him like the elixir of life. It was a draught which reminded him of days long past. Of family. Of love. Of belonging.

 ** _He wanted it._**

And the plans in his mind began to shift and change.

The objectives were more or less the same. But the endgame – _oh, the endgame_ – it was by far the best path which offered him the most return. It was _ingenious_. He couldn't wait to see it pass.

None of these chaotic thoughts showed on his expression.

"Maybe they do," Hunter answered slowly, balancing his answer between what Jay would have said and what he as himself truly felt. "But…you matter the most to me. It means much more, hearing it from a person I care about."

The look on her face stole his breath away. He committed her brilliant smile to memory with the eagerness of a parched man finding water.

"Does that mean you'll be around S.T.A.R. labs more often? Instead of moping around wherever you're usually at?" she asked cheekily.

"You'll see me," he promised. "Maybe not every day, but I'll definitely be around." Hunter hesitated briefly, thinking of the logistics, time, and resources he had to manage on both Earths, all the while not raising suspicion. But for her, he'd make an exception. "And if… _you_ …ever need me, I'm only a phone call away. Or text message. Whichever you prefer."

"You don't need to tell me that. I already bother you enough as it is," she joked.

He didn't laugh. "You're never a bother, Caitlin. Never a bother. If it weren't for the personal matters I have to take care of, I'd be spending a lot more time with you."

And if he had his way – _when_ he had his way – that too will soon be remedied.

* * *

...

He decided to stay on Earth-1 for four more days, drawing it up to a grand total of a week – the longest time he had ever gone without returning to his Earth. Though they were dimwitted, his enforcers were capable enough to run his show while he was away. Everything had went smoothly in the past when he left his affairs in their hands, so he didn't bother to call Black Siren to assist.

It turned out he was wrong. They were indeed, idiots. An external meta had surfaced and soundly beaten them – in broad daylight. It was unacceptable. His week-long absence, coupled with their incompetence, had given the city a chance to place its hope in someone new.

He really should have had Laurel oversee the city.

Hunter carelessly tossed the dead meta to the ground and turned his attention to the rest of his lackeys. They trembled and paled under the weight of his heavy stare. He grunted in disgust. The time he spent with Caitlin never failed to improve his mood – even before the revelation of his affections for her. It usually was potent enough to curb his bloodthirst to a slight degree. One-fourth of the people who either died or were tortured on a general day would be shown leniency. Harrison's brat didn't know it, but she could thank Caitlin for always being included in that number.

But with the report his now dead subordinate had delivered, even Caitlin's influence wasn't enough to hold sway over his temper.

"I entrusted you this city while I was gone. And all of you failed me. I am disappointed." They flinched, cowering further. "Fortunately, you were not the bearer of bad news, and I'm willing to be merciful. One of you – explain to me how _one child_ managed to cause so much trouble for my _significantly older_ subordinates."

Silence. The metas shot each other frantic looks. No one wanted to be the first to step up. It was practically a death sentence.

Hunter picked up a tattered rag from the counter and began to slowly clean the blood from his claws. All the while, he kept his gaze on them. It was unfortunate he wasn't gifted with enhanced hearing, because he would have so loved to hear their frenzied heartbeats. Some of the metas were already breaking out into sweat.

Good. They better be fearing for their lives.

Finally, one of them cracked. Or rather, she was pushed into it. Hunter's eyes narrowed when Reverb elbowed Killer Frost. There was a furious expression on her face, but a firm look from the man forced her to grudgingly step forward. Deathstorm followed, staying close to her side.

How sweet, Hunter inwardly sneered. A useless gesture though. The man could never stand a chance against him.

He could protect Caitlin far better than _Ronnie Raymond_ had and still be alive for it. He wouldn't leave her behind like the fool did –

"Her powers aren't restricted to one skillset," Killer Frost said, interrupting his train of thought. The blond-haired woman's voice had a reverberating quality to it due to the nature of her abilities, but now it shook more than normal. "It's…I…I don't know how to describe it other than magic. She's like a magician, or a witch. Teleportation, elemental abilities, flying. That's all we've seen so far, but I think she has more tricks up her sleeve. "

 _Magician, or a witch._

Hunter stilled.

Oh no. It couldn't be. He always made sure to clean up after loose ends –

"Who is she? What does she want?" he asked. Some of his emotions must have leaked into his voice, because Deathstorm had tensed and Killer Frost was trembling so hard now he almost faltered – before forcibly reminding himself that she wasn't _his_ Caitlin.

"S-she kept demanding to know where you were. That's all she would say. 'Where is Zoom?'"

"CCPN managed to catch a picture of her during one of our skirmishes," Deathstorm added, taking out his cellphone and quickly scrolling through the screen. "No one's managed to identify her though –"

The man jerked in surprise when Hunter suddenly appeared before him, blue electricity angrily hissing around his body. He snatched the phone out of Deathstorm's hands.

The headlines proclaiming the arrival of a new vigilante glared mockingly up at him. No author was attached to the article, most likely to protect the reporter – a futile action anyway, he'll find them soon enough. Below the title, a picture of an eighteen year old girl was featured. Gray-blue eyes, black hair, olive skin – and a face which was hauntingly similar to the man who was instrumental to permanently giving him Jay's appearance.

Hunter almost laughed. A daughter. The Magician had a _daughter._ How in the world had he missed something like _that_ when he had been gathering intel on the man? Parents, siblings, all of whom had no powers whatsoever – but nothing about a spouse and child. Most likely the former was dead, since only the daughter appeared. And never once had the Magician uttered any mention of them during his short-lived days as Hunter's prisoner.

 _You got me, old man. Revenge from beyond the grave, eh?_ A slow smile spread across his face, stretching the tears on his mask and making him appear more demonic. Undoubtedly, the man had died thinking he protected his child. But his fool of a spawn decided to show her face here when she could have lived the rest of her years in peace. Not that Hunter minded. It had been a while since his last decent fight. If the girl was anything like her father, then this would be fun. _She wants vengeance? I won't disappoint her._

He made a derisive noise, pretending he didn't recognize her. " _This_ is what has been eluding you all for so long? Pathetic."

"We don't know where she's hiding, but she usually comes out to help civilians in danger," Killer Frost said, her eyes unable to meet his. "And if not that, she attacks our patrols randomly. We've alerted them to send word as soon as she – "

Hunter's voice cut across hers. "I don't wait for anyone, much less a child." He licked his lips, already able to taste the heady rush of a battle against a capable opponent. "We're bringing the fight to her. It looks like you have a chance to redeem yourselves. Don't disappoint me."

Though the metas could not see his expression, they all shivered at the hunger in his harsh voice.

Zoom was out for blood. And not just hers.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

Taking over Central City Picture News was predictably easy. Even with the speedster sensors Harrison had designed and sold to the people, the civilians only had several seconds to process the alarms before he appeared. Hunter swiftly rounded up the stunned employees, binding up their feet and hands, and gagging them. Only one he kept unrestrained, a middle-aged woman, who he ordered to prepare the cameras for a streaming broadcast on their website. The rest he delivered to the tender care of his lackeys once they arrived.

The hostages were moved to the back, situated in front of CCPN's logo. Half of the metas guarded them, while the others set out to fulfill his orders and strategically position themselves throughout the office. One of them turned on the TV, going to Channel 52 News to monitor the situation. He watched the report absentmindedly, most of his thoughts elsewhere.

When it came to engaging a non-speedster meta, Hunter liked to make it relatively quick. Mostly because none of them could ever hope to match him in terms of power, and consequentially the fight they put up was inevitably pathetic and barely worth his time. Which brought up the second point – he didn't _care_ enough about his victims to give them any more attention than they required. The Magician fell in the second category but not the first, making him the only non-speedster to ever be granted a proper battle.

Fighting an opponent with a wide range of abilities was difficult even for a person like him. Perhaps the only thing that kept the Magician from teleporting far away from Hunter's grasp was his family. Reconnaissance on his opponent prior to the showdown indicated the Magician was capable of tracking down select people, regardless of the obstacles. On a whim, Hunter decided to sequester his hostages on Earth-1. Fortunately, this somehow hid the Magician's family from his magical senses, and the man had gone after Hunter with unrestrained fury.

It had taken four metas and himself to finally wear out the Magician enough to subdue him. Hunter's speed would normally be the deciding factor in ending fights before they could truly begin, but the Magician was a special case. Aside from his versatile skillset, the Magician had no need to say any words to cast his spells, unless it involved a particularly powerful or specific attack. Fortunately, all that magic depended on a reservoir of energy, and no reservoir was limitless. The same would hold true for this girl.

The question of how she came to learn of his role in her father's death, and why she didn't bother to search him out till now flitted briefly through his mind. Hunter had captured and shortly killed the man a month or so after he discovered Earth-1. For certain, it had nothing to do with his change in identity. If the Magician had been that tight-lipped in order to keep his daughter safe, then he would not have cast something which would attract the attention of certain magic-using metas. So the girl was definitely not aware of Hunter taking on Jay's appearance. What concerned him the most was her sudden emergence. Most likely, she had been training all this time to hone her abilities in order to be on even ground with a speedster.

More tricks up her sleeve, indeed. Obviously she hadn't gone all out against his subordinates. But then again, she was a child barely on the cusp of adulthood. Overestimating her was just as foolish. She wouldn't have the same amount of experience and control her father had.

"Zoom," Reverb's voice drew his eyes away from the screen. The meta pushed the civilian beside him forward. "This is the reporter who's been covering the vigilante. Adrian Cole."

A choked noise escaped from the man when Hunter's hand shot forward and latched onto the front of his shirt. In one smooth movement, the man was bodily lifted into the air. The tips of his shoes were the only thing touching the ground, and it screeched loudly against the floor as Hunter dragged him over to the other hostages. Instead of setting him among his colleagues however, Adrian was thrown into a chair a couple yards in front of them. The force behind the action made the chair topple backwards – but Hunter was already behind him, digging his claws into the man's shoulders and stopping his fall.

Hunter bent over, his gravelly voice rumbling beside the terrified man's ear. "You thought you could hide your name from me?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about – "

"A matter of elimination. Certainly, it wasn't the _sports_ editor who wrote those articles." He paused, and then casually added, "And if it was, it doesn't matter in the end. All of you are dead, anyway. Newspapers are now a relic of the past – Central City won't miss you. But I am feeling charitable today, and so I'll give you one last moment of glory." The glint of a wedding ring caught his attention. "Do you have children? You'll be on live soon. They get to see you one more time before you're in a coffin."

"Please. Please, he's only seven…"

"It's a pity you didn't think of the consequences earlier," he crooned, tightening his grip. Adrian groaned in pain when his claws cut through his shirt and skin. "Is your journalistic integrity worth your life? Is giving hope to the masses out there more important than your family?"

The man's tears were an answer in itself. Hunter laughed softly, finally releasing him. Spots of blood were slowly seeping into the area where he had pierced the man, staining his white shirt. Adrian's sobs were soon muffled when Hunter tied a cloth around his mouth.

One of his subordinates came up to him. "CCPD is five minutes out," she reported. "And Channel 52 just caught wind of the news. They're saying it's a hostage situation by one of us. No one knows you're here yet."

"It's time to change that." His onyx eyes flickered to the woman with the camera. "You. Is it ready?"

"Y-y-yes. You just need to press this button, and it'll start broadcasting."

A shriek escaped from the woman when he materialized in front of her, the camera dropping from her slack hands. He quickly grabbed it before it could land onto the ground and motioned for a nearby lackey to take the shaking woman away. Checking to make sure everything was in place and satisfied that it was, Hunter activated the device and spun it around so that the lens was pointed at him.

"Central City…it's only been a week, but you've already forgotten who truly runs this place. You have become desperate enough to depend on a child to protect yourselves from me." Hunter walked over to the weeping man and crouched beside him, angling the camera so that it captured the both of them. "This reporter claims that a new hero has come – but I assure you, she is the farthest thing from one. I have been here for twenty minutes, and yet there is no sight of her. Even CCPD is already on their way, pretending to have some semblance of authority in my city." He gestured to the hostages behind him with his free hand. "A challenge for you, little girl – come and fight me. Save these civilians, if you're the hope they claim you to be. For every ten minutes you are not here, one of them will die…starting with this man."

The room was briefly illuminated by a blinding flash of blue lightning. A horrible crunching sound followed. By the time the light faded away, Adrian was slumped over in his seat, lifeless. His colleagues gasped and screamed in horror.

"The clock is ticking," Hunter purred. "What will you do now, hero?"

The echo of his harsh voice was still ringing in the air when he tossed the camera aside. It broke after taking a heavy landing. Hunter had no intention of broadcasting the fight itself – putting the girl's carcass in a very public place did a better job at pounding the message into everyone's minds. Unceremoniously, he tipped the chair over. The dead man crashed to the floor.

In the next instant, he had the empty seat occupied by the woman who prepped the live-stream for him. Her soft cries joined the other sounds of despair and muffled pleas. On the TV, the news station had found his message and were broadcasting it. The wailing sirens outside steadily increased in volume, reaching a pinnacle as the vehicles screeched to a halt in front of the building. Flashing red-and-blue lights shone through the windows. Officers poured out, scrambling behind their cars and drawing their weapons. All a show, of course. Unless he directly attacked them, they never interfered with any fight involving him.

A fight that had yet to begin.

The speedster's eyes narrowed. What an impudent child. With so many lives on the line and the media reporting the commotion, he thought it would've attracted her instantly. But this worked in his favor. Her lack of response would only look bad for her.

The woman jerked when he laid his hand on her shoulder, crying harder. There were still two minutes left, but Hunter was hardly a man of his word, and they were all going to die anyway –

A shift in the air. Between one second and the next, the woman under his hand disappeared and he found himself grasping at nothing. Shouts sounded out as multiple people suddenly materialized in the room. Jets of light struck his metas before they could react and knocked out a number of them.

Hunter didn't even blink as more than half of his lackeys fell to the ground, unconscious. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder – all the hostages in the back were also gone – before turning his eyes to the furious young woman several yards away from him. The people she brought with her, most likely external metas too as he did not recognize any of them, were aiming their weapons at the remainder of his subordinates.

It would be just him and her. Perfect. She already spent a portion of her magic transporting the civilians away from the fray. Heroes and their bleeding hearts – it was the one thing he could always count on to cripple them.

The speedster's ghastly maw widened. "Cutting it close, aren't we? And you've brought friends with you. How thoughtful. You can join each other in death."

Her voice was hard. "No one else is dying today but you."

"A bold promise. I will find those civilians after I'm done with you," he drawled. "Tell me, what has made you seek out my presence?"

The girl's youthful face twisted. "You killed my family!"

He examined his claws, flicking off some of the dried blood which still clung to it. "Recently, or in the past? I have killed many people. You'll need to be more specific."

The tension in the room thickened. It felt as if the temperature plummeted, and he had a feeling it wasn't because of Killer Frost. Hunter continued to ignore the girl in favor of seemingly cleaning his gloves, but he kept her within his peripheral vision. She looked like she wanted to tear him apart.

He chuckled to himself. Children were so easy to provoke.

 _Three, two, one_ –

A shockwave of energy erupted from her hands. Speed-force seared through his nerves and veins as he dodged the wide, encompassing attack, effortlessly running up the walls and ceiling. She was still in the action of attacking him when he was directly above her, his enhanced senses making it seem as if she were frozen in time.

He pushed himself off the ceiling, claws outstretched. But instead of ripping into flesh, his hands went _through_ her.

Something tackled him from behind. The colors of his surroundings stretched into a blur. Hunter snarled, turning around to swipe at the person, but they disappeared before he could. The swirling colors suddenly halted, becoming a sky. Wind roared in his ears as he tumbled through the air.

Quickly, he turned his head. The ground was approximately a hundred feet below him. Forest, asphalt, a decrepit-looking building – he instantly realized what happened to him. The girl had teleported them to an abandoned area outside of Central City and dropped him.

Nothing he couldn't handle. He had plummeted from a higher height before – and even if Barry had been taken the brunt of his fall at the time, the both of them only gained marginal injuries related to the impact. This was simply an inconvenience. Cushioning his fall by generating a whirlwind with his arms came to mind, but he wanted to have her ignorant of that particular ability for a little longer, since she was so fond of flying.

The hissing of electricity around his body increased in intensity as he gathered more speed-force unto himself. Hunter pulled his arms closer and extended his legs, twisting his body. As soon as his front was angled toward the ground, he tucked his legs under him in a way where it would bear the impact first.

The asphalt cracked beneath him as he landed, crouched on his hands and feet like a feline. Blue electricity snapped in all directions. He slowly pushed himself up, his joints creaking and groaning as the speed-force easily fixed his minor injuries.

Hunter didn't have to wait long for his opponent to show her face. She teleported a good distance away from him, hovering a couple feet off the ground.

The dark-clothed speedster strode away from the crater he made, but did not immediately assault her. "The girl I attacked. Was that even you?"

"An illusion." She drifted further away for each step he took towards her.

Interesting. Her father didn't have that specific ability. "And your companions?"

"Magical duplicates. I changed their appearances."

He laughed. _That_ trick, he knew well. Her father hadn't gone the extra mile to conceal their identity, as it had been a full-out fight with no hostages in the fray. She, on the other hand, wanted him to underestimate her till the very last moment – and also have the duplicates serve as a distraction for his subordinates.

The good thing was the Magician could only cast the duplication spell once. Apparently it took a lot out from him. Which meant the girl wouldn't be able to use it again anytime soon.

"You've made a mistake coming to my city. After I kill you, I'll find those hostages. All those deaths will be on you."

She raised her hands. "It won't come to that."

Hunter smirked. And then he was off and running.

The girl was clever. She used a mix of illusions, flying, teleportation, and icy blasts to keep him away. Her magical perception gave her an advantage over him – she could sense where he would appear regardless of his speed. The few times he managed to slip through her offense or catch her before she teleported, her energy shield deflected his blows. He couldn't find the right frequency to vibrate at to phase through it. Trapping her in a whirlwind surprised her long enough to knock her out of her flight, but she merely teleported before he could go any further.

She was as troublesome as her father, if not more. But the Magician had eventually weakened as the fight dragged on, his energy reserves drained. Hunter would do the same to her. He just had to last long enough, since he also had his own reserves to be careful with. And as much as he hated to admit it, her versatile magic abilities posed even a challenge for a speedster like him.

The air warped where his head had been a second earlier, a singularity-like sphere forming. It pulled on him like a vacuum, dragging him towards it. He managed to shake off the invisible force and run, stumbling onto the ground twenty yards away. There wasn't any time for him to catch his breath. The hair on the back of his neck prickled at the sudden temperature drop. Hunter swiftly rolled to the right, just as a blast of ice hit the place where he had been moments before. He was close enough to feel the frigid coldness emanating from it. His breath came out in visible clouds of white smoke.

"Tired already?" a mocking voice sounded above him.

Hunter pushed himself up, locking eyes with the floating magician. "You should have stayed hidden, little girl," he rasped. "Your father kept quiet about you even under torture. And your family…heh. They didn't have much to say either."

"Shut up!" Her reply was punctuated with many large frozen spikes. Hunter hastily avoided them, his teeth shaking from the impact of each one as it slammed against the asphalt.

He continued to taunt her, undeterred. "He didn't fare well as a prisoner. During one of my visits, he bit his tongue off, but – " A chuckle escaped his mouth. "I had a meta heal him right back up."

Her eyes flashed. "I told you to SHUT! UP!" she screamed, throwing homing energy blasts.

He took off, zig-zagging across the side of the abandoned building and jumping through an open window. Drywall exploded behind him as he rounded around the corner, the attacks narrowly missing him by inches. Hunter went up to the roof.

"You'll join them soon," he called down to her. "They'll be so disappointed in you for wasting their sacrifice."

She flickered out of sight. Hunter immediately backtracked, just as she reappeared before him, the air around her whipping wildly. Her face was twisted in fury and tears ran down her cheeks.

Her attacks came faster now, more relentlessly. But they were unfocused, anger having affected her aim. And she put too much of her strength behind them, accelerating her spiral to fatigue. He ran around her blasts, waiting for an opening. As soon as she started to falter, Hunter slowed down and drew his arm forward, letting his energy hurl at her.

Blue lightning struck her shield. This time, his attack sent cracks through it. Grinning in triumph, Hunter closed the space between them in a blink of an eye. The damaged shield shattered around him as he collided into it. His vibrating hand sunk through her chest —

But met only air.

His eyes widened. Before he could pull away from the fading illusion, pain erupted from his side, accompanied with coldness. Hunter staggered, barely managing to dodge an energy blast in time. The girl swiftly took advantage of his injury, firing off quick, successive bolts. The air was knocked out of his lungs when one of them caught him in the chest, forcibly propelling him back and onto the ground. He skidded across the concrete surface, the friction digging into his back. The girl was yelling something now, and he immediately recognized it as the same tongue the Magician used whenever he wanted to cast complicated, powerful spells.

Quickly, he dug his claws into the floor to slow his fast momentum. White-hot sparks flew from the contact. With his other hand, he yanked out the source of his agony, bit back a pained scream, and wildly threw it in the direction of where he had last seen her. It was an icicle with a deadly sharp point – it hadn't pierced all the way through him, even though the girl could have made it so. Hunter had a feeling it wasn't an accident.

The dark-clothed speedster rolled onto his feet, his boots sliding back, stopping just several yards away from the edge of the rooftop. Blood was pouring profusely from his side, but it tapered off to a trickle as the gaping wound stitched itself closed. His onyx eyes darted around, searching for the girl, but she was nowhere in sight. The icicle he had thrown at her laid on the ground, broken into hundreds of little pieces.

Hunter launched himself forward, intending to speed off before she could ambush him. But something constricted around his legs. He caught himself before he tumbled to the ground. Intending to phase through the impediment, he vibrated – or tried to. Nothing happened.

Dread filled him as he looked down. His feet were bound by manacles and chained to the ground. The material was translucent and had a purple glow.

A growl ripped from his throat as he tried to free himself. The chains didn't even budge. Whatever magic she casted had put some sort of stopper on his speed-force. He could only access enough to continue altering his voice, but no more than that. Hunter desperately reached into himself, trying to wrench more energy into his body. But the block held, even as his speed-force bubbled angrily beneath it.

A rustling noise drew his attention. The girl was in front of him again, far enough to be out of his reach. She landed lightly onto the ground, unable to sustain her flight any longer. Hunter nearly screamed in frustration. She had finally, truly weakened enough for him to kill her, but the damn spell she cast was immovable. He tugged harder on his inner core. Not even a flicker of electricity appeared.

"Those chains are inescapable," she said tiredly. Hunter ignored her, continuing his efforts. "You almost got me there. If you weren't so arrogant, you would have."

He paused at that, giving her a measuring stare. "And you're not? There were multiple chances for you to complete your revenge. You could have casted this restraint earlier and be done with it." The ghastly mimicry of a grin on his mask elongated as he laughed. "You think yourself righteous. But you were just toying with me. Playing with your food. Drawing out my punishment. And you _enjoyed_ it." He wagged his index finger at her in a mockingly scolding gesture. "Naughty girl. You're no better than I am."

He was baiting her, intending to drag out their conversation as long as he could. Provoke her enough to have her take off his mask before she killed him – the shock of seeing his face would buy him extra time. Hunter was counting on it. Who wouldn't want to look at the murderer of their family in the face? This was personal for her, after all. And there was a good chance she would mistake him as Jay.

Fury, an emotion which so easily distorted one's judgment, was what drove her thoughts and actions, and the fight had been an adrenaline-fueled blur. It was very likely their exchange didn't leave an imprint on her, as she had been so single-mindedly focused on keeping him away from her and subduing him. He could use this to his advantage. Even if he didn't know her name, he could channel Jay's mannerisms well enough to push her buttons. She would be caught in the moment, too busy feeling betrayed to look beneath the façade and recognize the truth.

"I'm nothing like you!" she spat. You're as monstrous as the mask you wear. I wouldn't be surprised if it's your true face!"

Ah, heroes. They were all the same. So quick to anger when their honor was questioned, and so easy to be tempted to a monologue.

"Is it? I'm as human as you are. Even the best of us have darkness within," he purred. "And you're no different."

Hook, line and sinker.

With an angry cry, she swiped at the air, making a grabbing motion. His mask was wrenched from his head, flying into her hand.

Her reaction was _brilliant._ Hunter had never seen anyone's face drain of blood so rapidly. The girl took several steps back, her hand pressed against her mouth in shock and her eyes wide.

"J-Jay? What – no, that's _impossible_. You would never do something like this. And you were killed by – "

Hunter immediately adopted a warm, benevolent expression. When he spoke, it was with Jay's voice. He mimicked the man's calm and even cadence perfectly. "I told you, we're no different. It's surprisingly fun to be a hero, but all good things come to an end. I'd never thought we meet this way again. It's a shame your memories of me as Jay are now tarnished."

"You're _Zoom_?" she whispered, still pale. " _You_ killed my family? Why? Why would you do such a thing? Why spare me?"

"It needed to be done. You wouldn't understand. But I promised him I wouldn't harm you – as long as you never came to Central City." He sighed, a regretful look on his face. "I did have a soft spot for you. You could have lived your whole life without knowing better."

"You were our _friend._ We _mourned_ for you!" Her distraught voice made him inwardly smirk. If only Jay could see her now. He would be _devastated_. "All this time – how could you! The people _loved_ you. You were their hope. But you're the one who's been making them suffer all along!"

"There _is_ a beautiful irony to that," he mused out loud, still yanking on his chains. It was definitely something he would do if this had been a world where Jay Garrick did not exist, and he was free to take up both the mantle of the Flash and his rival. Maybe on another Earth, he did. "Giving them hope, then taking it away – and by the same hand. It's genius."

"Genius? It's the sick fantasies of a madman!" she exploded. "Those innocent lives you destroyed, my family, my _father_ – what is it even for? Do you take pleasure from this? Is that it?"

Hunter grew solemn at her words, all traces of Jay disappearing from his face. His eyes were cold as he stared back at her.

"I would be lying if I said no. But I wouldn't be telling the truth either if I said I cared enough about them to personally enjoy their pain."

Her lips curled into a snarl. A long, frozen spear materialized in her hands. He noted it took significantly longer than usual to form compared to her previous magic attacks. Weakening. She was definitely weakening. She wouldn't be able to easily subdue him again if he broke out. He needed to take advantage of this _now_ , but the manacles _would not fall._

"Go to hell!" she cried out, throwing it as soon as it solidified.

Time slowed down. His enhanced senses perceived the way sunlight struck off the icy javelin as it pierced through the air. Ten yards away from hitting him. Five. Still, the restraints did not yield.

An image of _his_ Caitlin flickered through his mind. Behind her were all the Earths, the pathways between them bright and interconnecting like a lattice. All of them – his for the taking. His to plunder and conquer, his to love and adore. And the only thing stopping him from doing so were these shackles.

 ** _You can't lock up the darkness._**

Rage consumed him. There was no conscious thought in his mind, only animal instinct and savagery as he reached for a metal bar on the ground. He was barely aware of his speed-force hissing back to life, barely aware of how the spelled chains clattered to the ground as he phased through. A guttural roar tore from his mouth as he instantly crossed the distance between him and the girl. The icy spear slid harmlessly through his vibrating body.

She couldn't teleport anymore, exhausted as she was, but her shields were still up. Raising his fist, he directed all his energy towards it and brought it down.

Blue electricity erupted from the punch, crackling across his vision. The shield held for a few seconds before crumbling beneath his fist.

The girl stumbled back, lips already forming another incantation to restrain him again. He didn't let her finish.

Hunter slammed the bar into her abdomen, the force of his blow pushing her against the wall behind her. Cracks rippled across the concrete as he drove the bar straight through, embedding the girl onto it. He covered her mouth before she could utter any more words. Blood dripped down her chin as she frantically clawed at his hand, her blue eyes wide in pain and fear.

Breathless, ragged laughter rumbled in his chest as he took a moment to savor the fight. Now that his near brush with death was over and the tables had turned, he could appreciate it. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins, bringing a buzz he hadn't felt in ages since he imprisoned Jay. The girl would have made a wonderful addition to his ranks. Such a waste of talent.

But her magic was more trouble than it was worth, and he almost died at her hands. It was only through sheer willpower on his part and her exhaustion weakening her powers that he managed to take her down at all. No meta stronger than him should be allowed to live.

He lowered his head till they were at eye-level. A vicious grin stretched across his mouth.

"I never did give your father my thanks. Tell him for me, will you? None of this would have been possible without him."

* * *

...

A week had passed since Jesse had last seen Zoom. Her relief at his unnaturally long absence didn't do much to lift her mood as it was also accompanied by nervous anticipation. He always came back, and when he did, it never ended well. Sure enough, during one of the rounds when the speedster's lackeys would drop by to quickly check up on them, she overheard their talk about his return. He had killed one of his higher-ranking subordinates, they whispered. And whatever had provoked his anger made him particularly bloodthirsty today.

A coldness had settled upon her at the guards' words. Jesse shivered, trying to hold back her tears and rubbing her hands over her arms in a futile attempt to chase the chill away. The speedster was always in a murderous state, but when he hit certain peaks, he tended to take it out on either the man in the mask or her. He'd never beaten her as severely as he did the man, and he never sexually abused her. But that didn't mean the force behind his blows had softened drastically. And somehow at the end of it, she would always find herself waking up hours later on the cold, hard floor, skin unblemished and all her pain gone.

The only explanation for this was a meta with healing powers in Zoom's ranks, but questions thrown at her guards only gave her blank looks. Whatever it was, it didn't erase the sensation of Zoom's disgusting hands torturing her. The wounds, bruises, and cuts may be gone without a trace, but the memory of it stayed imprinted in her mind. And his laugher – oh mercy, his _laugher_. The horrible noise mingled with her screams and pleas for him to stop, neverending –

A sharp pain pulled her from her thoughts. Sometime during her reverie, she had dug her nails so hard into her arms it pierced skin. Jesse let out a shuddering breath, clasping her hands before her and resting her forehead against it. In the background, she could hear the methodical taps from the man in the mask, the pattern repeating over and over. She ignored it, having long given up on deciphering his words. Instead, Jesse strained her ears for the sound that heralded Zoom's arrival. It didn't do her escalating levels of anxiety and fear any good, but she'd rather be prepared than taken by surprise.

Approximately two hours passed before Zoom made his appearance.

Though she had anticipated it, she couldn't stop from flinching as the thunderous noise rang out. The trail of blue lightning he left behind faded away, but electricity continued to sizzle and snap over his body. Jesse held her breath, but he didn't spare her a glance, striding over to the man's cell instead.

"Hello, old friend," Zoom's terrible voice drawled. "I've neglected you for a while now, haven't I? Do you miss me?"

The masked prisoner cowered, shuddering like a leaf in the wind.

"I can't say I've missed you. I've been distracted lately. Earth-1 shows so much… _promise_. I'd tell you more about it, but Jesse is here." He slowly swiveled his head towards her. "Your father is doing well. He seems to be enjoying his new home. Perhaps he has forgotten about you."

"You're wrong!" Jesse spat, even as she trembled. "He'll stop you! Whatever you're planning won't work. All the metas you've sent to the other Earth have been beaten by the Flash."

"Your guards have been gossiping in your presence? Hmmm, I need to put an end to that." He sounded amused. It frightened her more than his usual tone. "I've heard your father boast of your intellect. What do you think I'm planning?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Shutting her mouth was the wise choice, but Jesse couldn't curb the anger and defiance that shone through her fear. "You're going to kill all of us and take over the multiverse. Villains like you are all the same."

"I wouldn't say we're all the same. No one is as fast as I." Zoom turned his attention back to the man, dismissing her as suddenly as he had brought her into the conversation. "You remember your old cellmate? I believe you've worked with him many times before. I never knew he had a child." The masked prisoner stilled at his words. Zoom chuckled mirthlessly. "Ah, so you _know_ her?"

The speedster raised a vibrating hand and phased it through the transparent wall. There was a glint of metal as something dropped from his grasp. The object bounced noisily against the floor, rolling over to the masked man.

At first, her cellmate did nothing. And then he slowly reached out, his hand shaking as he picked it up. Jesse couldn't make it out clearly, but it appeared to be some sort of silver emblem.

"No wonder she felt so…betrayed," Zoom added offhandedly, tilting his head to the side like a curious cat.

No sound came from the man. She was sure the mask rendered him completely incapable of speech, because otherwise he would have been screaming whenever Zoom tortured him. But his head was bent over as he stared down at the object, and his shoulders shook uncontrollably. Something fell from the eye-holes of his mask, landing onto his hand and dripping down. Jesse immediately recognized it for what it was.

Tears. He was crying.

She felt sick to her stomach. This _monster_. He just took and took and took, and he had no qualms about it all. He brought back a _trophy_ from his victim's body to give to the man. The sight made her want to throw up, but Jesse couldn't avert her eyes. A burning sensation came to them, and her throat tightened.

The poor girl. Her poor father. They were but a single drop in the ocean of lives Zoom had ruined and destroyed, but Jesse felt for them as if she personally knew them.

They were not unlike her and her own father.

"You needn't worry," Zoom purred, taking in great pleasure at the man's silent anguish. "I'm sure they'll give her a decent burial."

The slits on his mask elongated, making it appear as if it were a gaping, monstrous maw. Laughter echoed in the spacious room. On and on and on. Jesse squeezed her eyes shut, clamping her hands over her ears. But even that couldn't stop her from hearing Zoom's next words.

"I've hung her at the front of CCPD. Someone will have to take her down eventually."

* * *

...

This target was turning out to be more troublesome to pin down than the usual ones. The woman was an only child with deceased parents, and she did not keep in contact with her extended family. She moved to the area some years ago and didn't seem interested in befriending anyone, only having work-place acquaintances. Her social media footprint was in an even more lacking state – either the woman was a hermit, or she was paranoid about being tracked. Probably the latter, if the way she installed a VPN on all her devices was anything to say about it. Very annoying.

He was about to pass on recruiting her since it was usually the individuals unchained by bonds who were the most uncontrollable. They had nothing to lose, after all. A waste, considering her intriguing powers. She would have made an excellent pawn.

Fortunately, before he decided to drop her off his reconnaissance rounds, her friends from her original home state called, planning to drop by and visit her. It was the reason why he was at the mall instead of S.T.A.R. labs. The team was used to his sudden absences, and with Harrison here, they had another senior person to seek guidance from while he was temporarily gone.

The target and her friend – more would be coming later, if what he gathered was correct – had chosen to sit in the food court and catch up. Hunter sat some distance away in a corner, which partially hid him from their sight but offered him a good view of them.

Beside him were shopping bags filled with clothing he had purchased for himself and Caitlin. It helped him blend in as regular civilian – unfortunately, with Jay's looks, he had gotten a number of interested glances. Just sitting alone in a corner and writing in a journal would be a little more than strange, so Hunter had gone the extra mile to make himself appear normal and not like the stalker he was. He had a couple partially eaten pastries on his table and a cup of coffee. The journal he was writing his notes in were all in a cipher only he could understand.

He had been using this journal to record the profiles of the Earth-1 metas. There was quite a number of them since the particle accelerator explosion hadn't been contained as well as it had on his Earth. The majority of them kept low, unlike the idiots who thought they had a chance to fight against Barry on even ground. Those were unsurprisingly in Iron Heights. Freeing and recruiting them was an option, but with all the metas he had gathered intel on so far, it might not even be needed.

Aside from the metas, he also used the journal to keep track of Barry's allies. They required a special kind of…handling.

Killing the Arrow was the obvious course of action. He didn't like to leave loose ends, and the one time he accidentally did, it cropped up in the form of that annoying Magician's brat. While the fight was exhilarating and nearly on par with his clashes against Jay, he'd rather not have a repeat of it. Rebellious actions inspired others to follow. Best to get rid of Barry's allies before they could retaliate too.

Or…he could keep some of them alive and hand them out as pets to his most loyal henchmen. As a gesture of good faith. It wouldn't hurt to secure their allegiance further. Overseeing two Earths would be difficult even for a person like him. He would need all the obedient enforcers he could get to watch over his assets, especially when he would be out traveling through the multiverse.

Black Siren came to mind. She wouldn't be averse to seeing a familiar face from her past. And she was steadfast enough to not fall to the man's persuasions if he ever tried to sway her to his side.

Yes. He'll offer Earth-1 Oliver to her as a reward for her loyalty. Laurel never spoke of her history with the Oliver of their Earth, but Hunter hadn't singlehandedly rounded up dozens of metas under his command – both willingly and unwillingly – by not being thorough. Tracking down her civilian identity and locating all her precious people – living and deceased – posed no difficulty, just like with the others. He never found the need to coerce her with her family's or friends' well-being, though. Despite her home base being in Starling City and how she wasn't exactly a full-time subordinate, Laurel was one of the few metas – and the only external meta – who Hunter trusted. It helped that although she did not outwardly show fear towards him, she never vied for more power like Reverb, and her lack of impudence gave him one less factor to worry about.

He developed a grudging respect for Laurel as her tenure as his subordinate lengthened. She had the dubious honor of being the first and only of his surviving lackeys to see his unmasked face, before he permanently assumed Jay's identity. And not by purpose – it was an accident. She and three other metas had been assisting him in the fight against the Magician, and sometime during the chaos, the bothersome man had managed to take his mask off. After finally subduing him, Hunter immediately killed all the metas, leaving only Laurel alive.

Loyal subordinates were hard to come by, after all. And if he was honest with himself, so were friends. Laurel was perhaps the closest thing to one he would ever have, if one were to equate trustworthiness with friendship. However one-sided on his part that may be.

His cellphone suddenly went off in his pocket. The notification sound was the one he specifically assigned for Caitlin. Hunter promptly pulled it out.

 _Incoming Text_

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE  
**

The alert, accompanied with heart symbols, flashed in front of the contact picture that appeared with the text. It was taken in the Cortex when he and Caitlin were conversing – over recent biomedical advancements from his Earth, if he recalled correctly. But he couldn't remember the reason why Caitlin was blushing at this captured moment, or why his head was ducked down, almost in a shy manner. Barry and Iris were on the fringes of the photo, looking exasperatedly amused. Cisco was in the corner of the picture, holding a hastily made sign with arrows pointing to him and Caitlin and the capitalized words 'KISS HER ALREADY FOOL' emblazoned below it.

Somehow, shortly after he had acquired an Earth-1 cellphone, Cisco had snatched it off his person and taken this picture of them. The younger man had subsequently set it as Caitlin's profile picture and inputted this particular moniker for her contact name. Hunter had tried to change them both, but whatever Cisco had done kept it permanent. Threatening the man to undo what he did wasn't an option, since the real Jay would never do such a thing and would most likely be amused at such a clever stunt. Adding to that, Hunter didn't want Harrison to become suspicious once he was forced to cross over to Earth-1 and overheard what the team had to say of 'Jay.' So he resigned himself to this indignity.

Somewhere along the way though, it had grown on him. He really should have seen this as an indicator of his affection for her.

He spared a glance toward his target before unlocking the screen.

It was a group selfie. The team was gaping in awe at the numerous dishes on the table while Barry stood off to the side, looking smug. Harrison was the only one who had an annoyed expression on his haggard face. Hunter could already tell where this was going. Sure enough, a text message appeared below it, confirming his suspicions.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** You're missing an impromptu party we're having. I have no idea what the occasion is. Cisco was going through Yelp and complaining about how all the hot-spots were states away from Central City. Next thing I know, Barry suddenly has all this food on him. I don't even know how he managed to get his orders so quickly from Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in Las Vegas. Maybe he snatched the food from the diners…? Nah, probably not. He wouldn't do that…I think. (o_0) But at least I know he paid for them.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Btw, on your Earth, is Gordon also a renowned chef?

What a sight for sore eyes. He smiled fondly at her signature lengthy texts.

After getting Caitlin's phone number, it didn't take long for him to become aware of her quirks regarding texting. Unlike the rest of the team, Caitlin's texts were like emails – she usually refrained from using 'chat-speak' and kept to a certain grammatical standard. Occasionally he would get a text message that sometimes had to be split into two due to its word count. And somehow, she would manage to send off these respectably written texts in a little over the amount of time it took for a typical text to be typed out.

It was also jarring to see emoticons and common Earth-1 abbreviations like 'lol' every once in a while in her well-articulated sentences. And although he knew it wasn't her intention, it made him feel like an idiot whenever he shot off a message littered with abbreviations and grammatical errors. He quickly had to adjust his own texting standards. Now, Cisco would always teasingly complain that the two of them wrote like stringent elders and took up the most space in their group messaging texts.

Still eavesdropping on his target and continuing to jot down important facts, Hunter tapped in an answer with his other hand.

 **Jay:** Must be a slow day if Barry can afford time to get gourmet burgers from the opposite side of the country. And yeah, he is. I wouldn't be surprised if Gordon's a famous chef on every Earth. He has a restaurant in Las Vegas on my Earth too.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Lol he would. The man's some force of nature. And yeah, it's a slow day. But fighting crime doesn't stop Barry from going on his trips. There was this one time he immediately went straight to California after putting a meta away to get a poke bowl.

 **Jay:** Poke bowl?

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** It's basically a Hawaiian dish with marinated raw fish mixed with rice and other toppings of your choosing – crab salad, seaweed, etc.

 **Jay:** Hawaiian?

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** What

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Are you serious, Jay? Earth-2 doesn't have Hawaii? :-o

 **Jay:** Nah, it does. I was just messing with you. ;-)

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Urgh. I still can't believe I fall for that trick. Every. Single. Time. (=_=)

 **Jay:** Don't be too hard on yourself. I like hearing you talk. It's why I ask you those questions in the first place. Wish you were here with me now. Texting isn't the same.

She didn't reply immediately. Hunter set his phone down when the silence passed the one minute mark. Unconsciously, his fingers began to nervously drum against the table as his cellphone remained unresponsive.

Perhaps something came up? But she would have sent a quick text alerting him otherwise. In their whole conversation, she had been consistent with her replies, always responding in less than thirty seconds. Was it something he wrote? The nagging thought almost made him pick up his cellphone to recheck his text, but his attention was caught by the arrival of a woman to his target's table. He stifled down the urge and focused on the scene, swiftly accessing the way his target warmly embraced the woman and kissed her a little too closely to her mouth. He noted the way they looked at each other, and how their hands lingered on each other's sides. Before they could catch him watching them, he averted his eyes.

Holding the image of the woman's face in his mind, Hunter lifted the bottom corner of the page he was on. He didn't flip to the next page completely, keeping it partially lowered in case any curious person was glancing his way. Deftly, he sketched out a realistic portrait of the woman for research later and added the note ' _Old flame? Or possible significant other_ – _feelings have yet to be confessed? Attraction there. Kiss and touches verges between friendly and flirtatious_.'

The cellphone _beeped_ just as he was almost finished with writing those words. Hunter's hand shot out like a viper. He quickly unlocked the screen and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the text.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Sorry, Cisco took my phone from me. He and Barry were playing keep-away with it and reading our texts. According to them, you're a hopeless romantic.

Of course it was Cisco. Not only did the younger man's counterpart dared to threaten him with harming Caitlin, this version also had to make him anxious over her lack of response for no reason. There were just some constants in the multiverse, he thought disgruntledly _._ It would be a wonderful day when he could finally rid the Earths of this fact.

 **Jay:** We literally talked about food for 3/4ths of our conversation.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** I know. They think we're flirting with each other.

 **Jay:** *Are* we flirting with each other?

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** If you don't even know, clearly you're the farthest thing from a hopeless romantic. But don't worry, I didn't tell them the thing with the ice cream. ;-p

 **Jay:** Urgh. You promised not to mention that anymore.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Sorry, I'm going to bring that up along with every other embarrassing moment you had for the rest of your life. :-D

Hunter re-read the text several times. Warmth bubbled in his chest.

 **Jay:** I look forward to it.

He couldn't smother the silly grin on his face no matter how hard he tried. The rest of his life? She could already see herself with him for that long. It was little, telling things like these which made his heart lighten.

Especially since one of the many perks of speed-force was decelerated aging – hypothetically. Although it would take several more years down the road for him to be sure, Hunter was mostly confident it was true. The corners of his mouth pulled down into a frown as the following thought struck him.

But then this brought up the problem of Caitlin's own lifespan. Nothing to do with appearances of course, he would always love her no matter what she looked like. Beauties were a dime a dozen – if he had been interested in a physical relationship, which he never had been, he would have pursued them instead. She, on the other hand, was an anomaly. This emotional connection he forged with Caitlin was one-of-a-kind and quite literally out of his world. He could live a thousand lifetimes on his Earth and still not find someone like her.

No, the problem had to do with Caitlin leaving him before his own time. This couldn't happen. It wasn't an option.

He wondered…when the first phase of his plans have finally been completed…and he would have more time to spend with her…could his constant, unwavering presence affect her in any way? At the molecular level? Especially since his speed-force would be multiplied by not only Barry's and Jay's, but also numerous Flash incarnations in the multiverse who were practically waiting to be reaped…

The notification sound went off, drawing his attention back to the cellphone. He shuffled those thoughts into the 'urgent' side of his mind to be reviewed later on.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** You're so sweet. :3 What are you doing now?

Hunter typed in the reply with his left hand, while with the other he continued to record his observations of the target in his journal, who he had still been listening in onto all this time. Thankfully, even with his corrupted speed-force, he could multi-task at this level and not break a sweat.

 **Jay:** Nothing much. Just a little sight-seeing. I've only passed several shopping centers and already there's been four Starbucks in the same area. Why on earth would you need that many coffee shops for?

His cellphone rang before the screen even flickered off.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Because Earth-1. We're all caffeine addicts here. :-p

He snickered at the lame joke and wrote down 'EXPLOITABLE' beside his target's name. This one was turning out to be more promising than he thought she would be. He might be able to use her after all.

 **Jay:** Haha. Very funny, Cait. You know this is technically Earth-2 to me?

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Tomatoes, tomahtoes. Since we opened the breaches, we're Earth-1.

 **Jay:** That logic makes absolutely no sense.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Same to you. Speed-force makes no sense. You know Cisco and I are *still* trying to wrap our heads around how Reverse Flash could have pretended to be two people at once and beat himself up at the same time? And make it *look* believable? I treated those injuries myself!

 **Jay:** It's a speed-mirage, Cait. That's how he did it.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** Yeah. It still doesn't make any sense. (-_-;;)

 **Jay:** I could give you an explanation for it. But…

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** But what?

 **Jay:** It's super-long. Even for our usual texts. Just know it has something to do with speed-force. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** You're a horrible man. ୧(๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭

He laughed loudly at that. The people around Hunter shot him wary glances, but he ignored them.

 **Jay:** Funny you say that. There's this Korean bakery I stopped by earlier and they had some really delicious-looking croquettes. I was about to share them with you but…

He attached a picture of the half-eaten food roll and sent it to her.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** JAY NO

 **Jay:** I rate them A+. :-)

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** HOW COULD YOU

 **Jay:** Like you said, I'm a horrible man. :-p

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** YOU'RE DEAD TO ME

 **Jay:** Aw Cait. That far for a croquette? :'-(

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** DEAD

 **Jay:** Alright alright, I'll buy a dozen new croquettes just for you. The team will get the old ones.

The reply came exactly five minutes later.

 **THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:** I'm sorry, who is this? Because the person who had this number before JUST DIED

He smiled so widely his cheeks hurt. The strange noise gurgling in his chest could only be described as a cross between a giggle and a cackle. Undoubtedly, he looked like a maniac chortling to himself like this. The looks he were getting was definitely indicative of it.

So much for not drawing attention.

But the recon mission was successful, he concluded. He had gotten everything he needed from this woman and the four other targets he had observed today. Three of them were viable candidates, the other two would need a bit more… _persuading…_ before they acceded to his command. Actually, it might be best to execute those two as soon as he took control of this Earth's Central City. Their personalities and backgrounds would most likely make them dissenters of his rule. Rebellion was inevitable, but he'd rather kill off the pests before they got the chance to become an infestation.

Hunter snapped the book shut and slid it into his jacket's pocket. There was a spring in his steps as he headed off with his bags, thoughts already smoothly transitioning toward Caitlin.

Now, where was that Korean bakery again?

...

* * *

 **Author's Word Barf** – **Dedicated to Those Who Are Confused:**

I actually had heart symbols around Caitlin's contact name to up the ridiculousness, but this site refuses to cooperate and keeps deleting it lol.

A lot happens in this chapter in such a short amount of time. Haha, the moment he realizes he loves Caitlin, it sets off a chain reaction. And all in a week. I like to think it's just Hunter having a bad streak of luck. But mostly it's just for plot reasons because I'm lazy and want to get to more fluff next chapter. 8D *gets shot*

The questions you have about this AU will be made clearer as more chapters come in. However, I've added more info below for those who can't wait.

I tried to have this AU fit the show's timeline _generally_ , but if we went by the real-time order of the episodes, "Jay" had only spent 4 months with the team before "dying"? Yeah, no – you can bet I'll be screwing around with it. xD

1\. **Timeline for Hunter's origin? And why did Hunter change his identity to Jay's permanently?** – Hunter is convicted and sent to the asylum. After particle accelerator explosion, Jay became the Flash. Hunter, who escaped the asylum when he got his powers, does not like the presence of another speedster, and stalks Jay to gather intel. When Jay makes velocity serum, Hunter steals plans and takes about a month to get a PhD scientific background because SPEED-FORCE THAT'S HOW. 8D (And honestly, if you think about it, this is exactly what happens in the show because otherwise how else would a Hunter without a scientific background manage to create Velocity and speed-canon?). Hunter surfaces as Zoom and fights with Jay for two years (like the show). About a year later after he first injects Velocity, he finds out his cells are degrading. Three months before breach opens, Hunter finds a meta that can help slow his illness down. Breach opens, Jay and Hunter are pulled into Earth-1, where Hunter quickly subdues Jay and imprisons him. Hunter spends 6 months studying Barry & the team (like in the show). Sometime during that, he finds a magician who can change his appearance to Jay's permanently (because it tortures Jay to know that his enemy is running around with his face and causing havoc and Hunter takes sadistic pleasure in this. If there's one other person besides his father he truly hates, it's Jay). Then the rest is history.

2\. **Why use plot device a la magic to explain why Hunter has Jay's appearance? Also, Zoom can beat them in less than a second!** – I really wanted to emphasize how much of a manipulative asshole Hunter is and how he's willing to crush as many lives as he needs to get what he wants (nevermind the fact his plans are obscure and long-winded and there's probably an easier way to do it – but then again, that's a staple for evil mastermind villains anyway xD). Also, I will not lie, I was watching Young Justice while plotting the plot (lol) and I was thinking about how overpowered Zatanna/Zatara would be if they didn't need to say the words for most of their spells. So I decided to create OCs reminiscent of them in order to have someone non-speedster close to par with Zoom. I still had to nerf the OCs in some ways though, because mind-reading, memory manipulation, etc would ruin my tenuous AU even more so haha. By the way, what's with heroes and their tendency to monologue when they catch the bad guy? That's 99% of the reason the villain ends up escaping lol. It goes the other way around too. But I'm the one to talk since I used this plot device too. And yes, I was totally poking fun at it in that scene. :-p

As for Zoom being able to beat them in less than a second, I will bring up the argument that technically, Barry should be able to do the same with all his own villains anyway because the man literally runs faster than a human's eyes can ever hope to process. But due to show logic and also the fact it would be boring if we don't see a long, drawn-out fight where Barry experiences difficulties, this does not happen. If the show can nerf Barry, then I most certainly will nerf Zoom. It's only fair haha.

3\. **Why did you make "SnowJay" so cheesy?** – If Caitlin is the first person he's ever pursued an emotionally connective relationship to, then Hunter _has no idea what he's doing_. 8D He's like a giddy schoolboy getting together with his first crush. I kid you not, look closely to how he reacts after kissing Caitlin under the mistletoe. I'm 100% convinced this is why 90% of the "SnowJay" scenes in the show were so painfully cute and awkward (don't get me started on the deleted scenes).

4\. **Zoom torturing Jesse** – A reviewer brought up a really good point where Zoom does not need to torture Jesse (much thanks, Alexxis T. Swan!). The reason why I took this path in this AU is because of Episode 6 – Enter Zoom. We don't really fully see what Zoom does to Jesse when the camera pans to Cisco, but when I was doing research on Hunter's character to make sure I got his personality sorta right, I noticed that most recapping news sites and Reddit comments refer to this as Zoom torturing Jesse. The question is, if this were the case, why would he do that when he clearly knows why Harrison went to Earth-1 in the first place? Hunter can sense whenever Cisco vibes, so maybe he was sending a message, which Cisco unknowingly delivers by telling Harrison that his daughter was getting tortured? Which then leads to Harrison feeling cornered and more susceptible to helping Zoom. Who knows. The TV never really clearly states this. Maybe Zoom just likes being sadistic. But here, I guess you can say he's doing it because he's an asshole, and also Cisco may be vibing at those times whenever Harrison asks him to check on Jesse's status. So sensing whenever this happens, he makes a point of hurting Jesse. Unless, you know, he's in a good mood because he just spent time with Caitlin. Jesse doesn't know any of this, so I'll make a passing reference to it next chapter from Hunter's POV.

5\. **Replies to Guest Reviews: (1)** **_Des - May 3:_** Thanks for your time! Glad to hear you like it. I hope you'll enjoy the future chapters too! **(2)** **_Guest - May 4:_** Thanks for your time! Yes, the zero existence of Caitlin/Zoom fics at the time I wrote this was the reason why I had to write this lol. I hope you'll enjoy future updates too! :D **(3)** **_Jade - May 4:_** Hey there! Thanks for taking the time drop a comment on this fic and my other ones! Exploring their dynamics is fun – Hunter is such an intense person, but with Caitlin, he appears to restrain himself for her sake (even after the reveal). Which is interesting because usually when you see those possessive types, they go all out. But Hunter almost has this gentle (I use this term loosely lol) layer over it? Like he's afraid of scaring/breaking her? But at the same time he's still blatantly murderous? What a contradiction lol. Anyways, that's what I'm hoping to convey in this fic. I'm pretty sure this will change in the future episodes when Hunter realizes Caitlin will never be his, and he might even try and kill her – but hey, like you said, this is fanfic. And I haven't watched those episodes yet anyway so my take on Hunter will inevitably be different. xD Your words are lovely and help motivate me. I hope you'll enjoy future updates too! **(4)** **_Achille - May 5:_** Thanks for your time! Glad to hear you liked my take, I was very worried about it. And yes, the sequel to this fanfic (which is up and is being updated alongside this fic) covers Caitlin's time as Zoom's prisoner after he kills all her friends. If you're interested in dystopic scenarios and angst, that might be your thing! ;-) **(5) _Guest - May 28:_** Thanks for your time! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it. I will definitely continue writing, it's just self-doubt and Life that's stopping me. xD Yes, it's a good song, isn't it? Definitely helps the muse.

So guys – did I manage to write a convincingly murderous, mostly sociopathic Hunter/Zoom? Have I delivered on the creepiness on how easily he balances between doting on Caitlin and conspiring to manipulate/kill/take over something? I'm agonizing so much on whether I did him justice or not. D: But this is AU and crackfic anyway – pretty sure tv-show!Hunter wouldn't be so reluctant to kill Caitlin when he realizes she'll never be on his side.

Tentative Events for Next Chapter – Plotting while cuddling. Cuddling while plotting? Reverb making sure he'll get the last laugh. Jealous Hunter/Zoom.


End file.
